Gold Stocks Push TSX Higher Thursday Morning - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are extending gains for a second session Thursday morning as risk appetite improved after Federal Reserve chairwoman-designate Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. central bank is in no rush to pare economic stimulus.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 84.13 points or 0.63 percent to 13,454.80, day after snapping its two-session losing streak.

The price of gold was recovering from its recent losses Thursday morning after Federal Reserve chairwoman-designate Janet Yellen's dovish comments soothed fears of an imminent QE tapering. Gold for December gained $23.10 to $1,291.50 an ounce.

Among old stocks, Royal Gold (RGL.TO) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) were up around 3 percent each.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAA.TO) surged over 8 percent after reporting lower third quarter net income of of $14.2 million or $0.09 per share, compared with $22.6 million or $0.15 per share a year ago. However, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $12.2 million or $0.08 per share. Analysts expected the company to report earnings per share of $0.04 for the quarter.

Latest data from the EIA revealed that US crude oil inventories gained 2.60 million barrels, while gasoline stocks shed 0.80 million barrels in the weekended November 08. Analysts expected crude oil stocks to climb 1.0 million barrels and gasoline stocks to dip 300,000 barrels last week.

Earlier today, the IEA in its monthly oil report said a seasonal upswing in demand could put upwards pressure on oil prices in the near-term. The IEA said that demand for oil products is on the verge of a seasonal increase and refineries should steeply raise the amount of oil they process in November and December.

Crude for December shed $1.08 to $92.80 a barrel

In the oil patch, MEG Energy (MEG.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) were down around 1 percent each, while Niko Resources (NKO.TO) gathering over 2 percent.

Tourmaline Oil (TOU.TO) jumped over 5 percent.

IT services company CGI Group Inc.(GIB_A.TO) gained nearly 7 percent after it swung to profit in fourth quarter, reporting net earnings of C$141 million or C$0.44 per share compared with loss of C$168 million or C$0.58 per share last year. Excluding special items, net earnings were C$213.6 million or C$0.67 per share for the quarter. Analysts expected the company to report earnings per share of C$0.62 for the quarter

Media and music retail business company Mood Media Corp. (MM.TO) rose 4 percent even after reporting wider third-quarter net loss of $87.70 million or $0.51 per share compared to $10.82 million or $0.06 per share in the same quarter last year.

In economic news from Canada, Statistics Canada said the nation's trade deficit narrowed to $435 million in September from $1.1 billion in August as merchandise exports grew 1.8 percent while imports edged up 0.2 percent in September. I Separately, the agency said the New Housing Price Index was unchanged in September, following a 0.1 percent advance in August.

From the U.S., the Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 339,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 341,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to fall to 330,000 from the 336,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Separately, the Commerce Department said said the trade deficit widened to $41.8 billion in September from a revised $38.7 billion in August. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $39.1 billion. The wider than expected deficit came as the value of imports jumped 1.2 percent to $230.7 billion, while the value of exports edged down 0.2 percent to $188.9 billion.

Elsewhere, the euro zone economy managed to expand in the third quarter, flash estimates from Eurostat showed. Gross domestic product was up 0.1 percent, down from the 0.3 percent quarterly growth posted in the preceding three months. This was the second consecutive expansion and matched economists' expectations.

Meanwhile, the German economy grew 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, matching economists' expectation, official data showed. However, economic growth decelerated from the 0.7 percent expansion seen in the second quarter, Destatis said. The statistical office said positive contributions were made only by domestic demand in the third quarter of 2013 and the balance of exports and imports had a downward effect on GDP growth.

U.K. retail sales volume dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month in October due to a notable 1.3 percent fall in non-food store sales, the Office for National Statistics said. The drop in sales volume follows a 0.6 percent rise in September. It was forecast to remain flat in October.