Canadian Stocks Rise On Easing Ukraine Worries -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are edging higher Monday morning, extending gains to a third successive session amid easing concerns about the situation in Ukraine.

Officials from Ukraine and Russia reportedly meeting to discuss a possible truce.

Hopes that global central banks will keep easy monetary policy in force for an extended period are also aiding sentiment.

The sharp fall in crude oil prices amid demand growth concerns is taking a toll of energy stocks. Gold stocks are weak as well, due to lower bullion prices.

However, stocks from financial, industrial and technology sections are attracting buyers.

Investors are looking ahead to the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's July policy meeting, to be released on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 17.70 points or 0.12 percent at 15,321.94, after advancing to 15,353.85 earlier.

On Friday, the index closed up 13.06 points or 0.09 percent at 15,304.24.

The big six banks are up 0.4 to 1 percent, lifting the Financial Index by over 0.5 percent. Insurance stocks Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC.TO) and Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) are also up with strong gains.

The Information Technology Index is up 0.87 percent. BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) is moving up 1.3 percent. BlackBerry has named Dr Sandeep Chennakeshu to lead its new business unit BlackBerry Technology Solutions. Open Text Corporation (OTC.TO) and Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) are advancing 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) is rising 2.7 percent, while Avigilon Corporation (AVO.TO) is declining nearly 3 percent.

The Industrials Index is rising 0.52 percent, with Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO), Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO), SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC.TO) and Stantec Inc. (STN.TO) gaining 0.5 to 1 percent.

The Consumer Staples Index is moving up 0.8 percent, with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B.TO), Metro Inc. (MRU.TO), Loblaw Companies Limited (L.TO), Jean Coutu Group (PJC.A.TO) moving up by 1 to 2 percent.

Consumer discretionary stocks Magna International Inc. (MG.TO), Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL.TO), Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) and Cineplex Inc. (CGX.TO) are advancing 0.5 to 1.3 percent.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) is down 1.7 percent. The company has extended the expiration of its exchange offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Allergan, Inc. (AGN) by December 31, 2014. The exchange offer was previously scheduled to expire on August 15.

Among other top stocks in the healthcare space, Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) is down nearly 1 percent, while Catamaran Corporation (CCT.TO) is up 0.4 percent.

Among gold stocks, IAMGOLD Corporation (IMG.TO), Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) are lower by 0.8 to 1.2 percent.

The Energy Index is down 0.8 percent, with Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO), Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) and Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) declining 1 to 2 percent.

In commodities, crude oil futures for September are down $1.39 or 1.43 percent at $95.96 a barrel amid worries about a likely fall in global oil demand.

Natural gas for September is up $0.020 or 0.53 percent at $3.796 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are down $7.20 or 0.55 percent at $1,299.00 on stronger global equity markets.

Silver for September is up $0.078 or 0.40 percent at $19.603 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is up $0.013 or 0.43 percent at $3.116 per pound.

In economic news from the U.S., homebuilder confidence unexpectedly improved for the third consecutive month in August. Data released by the National Association of Home Builders showed the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index to have climbed to a reading of 55 in August from 53 in July. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the previous month.

Besides the FOMC minutes, the release of data on U.S. new home and existing home sales in July, the report on weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey for August and consumer price inflation report for July are among the key economic events this week. The Conference Board's economic indicators are also eyed this week.

In economic news from the eurozone, data released by Eurostat showed eurozone trade surplus to have increased unexpectedly in June, rising to EUR 16.8 billion, from EUR 15.4 billion in May. Economists had expected the trade surplus to decrease to EUR 15.1 billion.

Meanwhile, Bundesbank said in its monthly report that geopolitical tensions may weigh on Germany's economic outlook.