Canadian Stocks Are Extending Recent Gains -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is climbing in early trade Tuesday, following two consecutive sessions of triple digit increases. Traders may look to lock in some profits after the recent jump in the market. Healthcare stocks are leading the way higher after Valeant reported quarterly results. Gold, mining and energy stocks are also among the gainers this morning.

Markets in Europe are extending their winning streak to a fifth consecutive session Tuesday. Investors are reacting positively to some better than expected corporate financial reports and some dovish comments from Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty.

Markets in the United States were nearly flat at the open Tuesday, but have since inched slightly higher. The S&P and the Nasdaq have both risen to new all-time highs in early trade.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 56.30 points or 0.38 percent at 14,811.92.

On Monday, the index closed up 106.85 points or 0.73 percent, at 14,755.62. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,783.16 and a low of 14,663.48.

The Capped Healthcare Index is surging 3.98 percent. Concordia Healthcare (CXR.TO) is increasing 2.66 percent.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is soaring 12.71 percent. The company reported earnings that fell short of expectations, but the stock is rising on hopes for a turnaround under new management.

Chief Executive Joseph Papa: "We are also announcing a new strategic direction for Valeant today, which, at its heart has a mission to improve patients' lives, and will involve reorganizing our company and reporting segments."

The Gold Index is higher by 0.87 percent. Gold prices have turned higher Tuesday morning, after getting off to a weak start.

Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is climbing 1.47 percent and Kinross (K.TO) is advancing 0.14 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is higher by 2.24 percent and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is gaining 1.33 percent.

The Capped Materials Index is up 0.61 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is gaining 1.04 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is adding 1.26 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is increasing 0.78 percent and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is rising 0.42 percent. Agrium (AGU.TO) is also climbing 0.39 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is advancing 0.50 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is climbing 4.34 percent and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is higher by 0.89 percent. Teck Resources (TCK-B.TO) is gaining 1.07 percent and Capstone Mining (CS.TO) is up 2.47 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is increasing 0.42 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is higher by 0.53 percent and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is up 0.35 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is climbing 0.64 percent and Toronto Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is rising 0.44 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is gaining 0.44 percent and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is advancing 0.46 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is up 0.46 percent. Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO) is higher by 0.37 percent and TELUS (T.TO) is climbing 1.03 percent. Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) is rising 0.26 percent and BCE (BCE.TO) is adding 0.22 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is rising 0.26 percent. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is increasing 0.94 percent and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is advancing 0.46 percent. Air Canada (AC.TO) is climbing 0.33 percent and Finning International (FTT.TO) is up 1.31 percent. AutoCanada (ACQ.TO) is higher by 0.49 percent.

The Energy Index is up 0.22 percent. Crude oil prices continue to rise Tuesday amid talk of an impending deal between OPEC members to limit production.

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is rising 0.05 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is advancing 0.15 percent. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) is up 0.87 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is gaining 0.45 percent. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) is adding 0.26 percent.

Inter Pipeline (IPL.TO) will buy the Canadian oil and gas assets of the Williams pipeline companies. Shares are weakening by 2.12 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index is rising 0.14 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is climbing 2.06 percent and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) is gaining 0.22 percent.

Atlantic Power (ATP.TO) reported a wider second quarter loss. The stock is sinking 6.08 percent.

On the economic front, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. reported this morning that Canadian housing starts dropped by 9 percent in July, to an annual rate of 198,395. Economists had expected a decrease to 195,000.

China's inflation eased marginally in July, as food prices climbed at a slower pace. Inflation slowed to 1.8 percent in July from 1.9 percent in June, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday. The annual rate matched economists' expectations.

Germany's shipments recovered in June but the trade surplus decreased slightly as the increase in imports exceeded export growth.

Exports rose by adjusted 0.3 percent month-over-month in June, reversing a 1.8 percent decrease in May, figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. However, the pace of growth was weaker than the expected 1.1 percent increase.

At the same time, imports grew 1.0 percent over the month, after remaining flat in the preceding month. This was the first increase in four months.

As a result, the foreign trade balance posted a surplus of about EUR 21.7 billion in June, below May's EUR 22.1 billion.

U.K. industrial production grew marginally in June and the visible trade gap increased unexpectedly on higher imports, signaling weak contribution to growth from manufacturing and exports.

Industrial production grew only 0.1 percent on month in June, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday. Nonetheless, the increase reversed some of the 0.6 percent fall in May and confounded economists' forecast for a 0.1 percent drop.

The U.K. visible trade deficit increased unexpectedly in June, the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. The trade in goods showed a shortfall of GBP 12.4 billion compared to a GBP 11.5 billion deficit in May. The deficit was forecast to narrow to GBP 10 billion in June.

The total value of like-for-like sales in the United Kingdom surged 1.1 percent on year in July, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday. That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.7 percent following the 0.5 percent fall in June.

With hours worked increasing by more than output, the Labor Department released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected decline in U.S. labor productivity in the second quarter.

The report showed that productivity fell by 0.5 percent in the second quarter after sliding by 0.6 percent in the first quarter. The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected productivity to climb by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said unit labor costs surged up by 2.0 percent in the second quarter after edging down by a revised 0.2 percent in the first quarter. Economists had expected labor costs to climb by 1.8 percent compared to the 4.5 percent jump that had been reported for the previous quarter.

In commodities, crude oil futures for September delivery are up 0.38 or 0.88 percent at $43.40 a barrel.

Natural gas for September is down 0.066 or 2.40 percent at $2.682 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are up $5.40 or 0.40 percent at $1,346.70 an ounce.

Silver for September is up $0.07 or 0.35 percent at $19.875 an ounce.