Canadian Stocks Continue To Gain Ground -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is rising again Thursday morning, adding to the gains of the previous five sessions. Nearly every sector of the market is trading in positive territory, with the exception of some modest weakness in gold stocks. Energy stocks are among the biggest gainers, as crude oil prices are approaching $51 a barrel.

Markets in Europe are trading in the green Thursday. The Bank of England kept its key rate unchanged at a historic low, as widely expected, amid fears that the threat of deflation looms ahead of the general election in May. Investors continue to monitor the situation in Greece, which is due to make a 459 million euros loan repayment to the IMF later today.

Meanwhile, Germany's exports and industrial production recovered at a faster-than-expected pace in February, boosting hopes of strong recovery.

Markets in the United States are struggling to find direction this morning. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones have fallen into negative territory and the Nasdaq is attempting to hold on to modest gains. The minutes from the most recent Fed meeting showed Wednesday afternoon that Fed officials were divided about when to begin raising interest rates, with some calling for a rate hike in June even as others suggested waiting until next year.

Meanwhile, U.S. economic data came in better than anticipated Thursday morning. Following last Friday's disappointing jobs data for the month of March, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a rebound in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 4th.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 281,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 267,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 285,000 from the 268,000 originally reported for the previous week.

While the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. wholesale inventories rose by slightly more than expected in the month of February, the report also showed a continued decrease in wholesale sales.

The report showed that wholesale inventories rose by 0.3 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in January. Economists had expected wholesale inventories to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.3 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 116.87 points or 0.77 percent at 15,330.47.

On Tuesday, the index closed up 24.76 points or 0.16 percent, at 15,213.60. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,249.52 and a low of 15,175.35.

The Energy Index is increasing by 1.69 percent. Crude oil snapped a two-day gain to end 6.6 percent lower on Wednesday, after an official weekly oil inventory report from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles to have increased much more than expected last week.

However, crude oil prices have climbed back to around $51 per barrel in early trade Thursday.

Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is up 2.97 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is increasing by 1.19 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is higher by 1.93 percent and Legacy Oil + Gas (LEG.TO) is rising by 0.52 percent.

Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is climbing by 2.37 percent and Encana (ECA.TO) is gaining 2.41 percent. Talisman Energy (VET.TO) is also advancing by 1.85 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index is rising by 1.72 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is higher by 1.30 percent and Catamaran (CCT.TO) is adding 0.69 percent. Extendicare (EXE.TO) is also climbing by 1.34 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is gaining 0.92 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is rising by 1.14 percent and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is adding 1.41 percent. Air Canada (AC.TO) is higher by 0.65 percent.

Bombardier (BBD-A.TO) is down 0.37 percent. The company announced that Pierre Alary will retire as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

The Gold Index is falling by 0.04 percent. IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is falling by 1.19 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is down 0.69 percent. Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is lower by 0.72 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is decreasing by 1.79 percent.

Goldcorp (G.TO) is also surrendering 0.42 percent. The company announced first quarter gold production of 724,800 ounces.

Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is rising by 0.85 percent. The company announced that it is planning a going public event for its subsidiary, Brio Gold Inc., in the third quarter of 2015.

The Capped Materials Index is higher by 0.11 percent. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is rising by 0.74 percent, but Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is losing 0.68 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is gaining 0.21 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is climbing by 2.10 percent. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is also gaining 1.09 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is increasing by 0.03 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is rising by 0.64 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is gaining 0.75 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is up 0.83 percent and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is adding 1.23 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is advancing by 0.49 percent and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is higher by 0.63 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is rising by 0.02 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is climbing by 0.96 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is climbing by 0.74 percent. BCE (BCE.TO) is higher by 0.81 percent and TELUS (T.TO) is increasing by 1.52 percent. Rogers Communication (RCI-A.TO) is advancing by 0.36 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index is up 0.39 percent. BlackBerry (BB.TO) is gaining 1.63 percent and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is higher by 0.56 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is increasing by 2.75 percent.

Sandvine Corp. (SVC.TO) is rising by 5.26 percent, after reporting first quarter EPS of $0.067, compared to $0.051 a year ago.

DH Corp. (DH.TO) is down 0.54 percent, after it closed its previously announced prospectus offering of 16,500,000 subscription receipts.

On the economic front, Canadian building permits declined by 0.9 percent in February, to C$6.11 billion, according to a report from Statistics Canada Thursday morning. Economists had expected an increase of 3.3 percent.

Statistics Canada also reported this morning that Canadian new house prices rose by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected an increase of 0.1 percent.

Germany's exports and industrial production recovered at a faster-than-expected pace in February, boosting hopes of strong recovery in the growth engine of Eurozone during the first quarter, despite the weakness in new orders.

Driven by capital goods output, industrial production rose a seasonally and working-day adjusted 0.2 percent in February from the prior month, the Economy Ministry reported Thursday. It was faster than economists' expectations for a 0.1 percent rise.

A report from Destatis showed that exports grew 1.5 percent in February from January, when it declined 2.1 percent. Economists had forecast a growth of 1 percent.

Similarly, imports advanced 1.8 percent, reversing January's 0.2 percent fall. The monthly growth was faster than a 1.2 percent rise forecast by economists.

U.K. trade deficit in goods widened more-than-expected in February to its highest level in seven months, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. The visible trade deficit increased to GBP 10.340 billion from GBP 9.174 billion in January. Economists had forecast a shortfall of GBP 9 billion.

U.K. house prices increased more than expected in March after falling a month ago, survey data from Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division showed Thursday. House prices rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in March, offsetting a 0.4 percent fall in February. Economists had forecast a marginal 0.1 percent growth.

In commodities, crude oil futures for May delivery are up $0.53 or 1.05 percent at $50.95 a barrel.

Natural gas for May is up $0.006 or 0.23 percent at $2.625 per million btu.

Gold futures for June are down $7.80 or 0.65 percent at $1,195.30 an ounce.

Silver for May is down $0.264 or 1.60 percent at $16.19 an ounce.