TSX Ends A Tad Lower On Global Cues -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks rallied towards the close but still ended a tad lower on Thursday, tracking declining global equity markets, driven by losses in mining and industrial stocks. Traders also mulled over some soft data from the U.S. with initial claims for unemployment benefits rising more than expected last week.

The Canadian market reacted amid worries that Greece may not reach a deal with its international creditors, even as investors digested earnings results from some of the country's biggest lenders.

While Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras told reporters his government is close to an agreement to secure funding from its lenders, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis stressed the two sides still have a way to go. The outcome of a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Dresden today and tomorrow could shed more light on how Greece's international creditors seek to end the impasse.

European markets also ended mostly negative, after a mixed performance in early trade. Concerns over Greece continue to weigh on investor sentiment, with somewhat contrary remarks emanating from Europe adding apprehension and confusion to the already muddled scenario.

Markets in the United States ended mostly in the red as concerns over Greece and China weighed on markets. Investors weighed the sharp a sell-off in China equity market, as the Shanghai Composite Index plummeted 6.5 percent. Analysts see the weakness as a reaction to announcements by several brokers concerning tightening requirements on margin financing ahead of an IPO influx next week.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 15,107.00, down 3.47 points or 0.02 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,161.29 and a low of 15,005.03.

On Wednesday, the index closed up 59.66 points or 0.40 percent, at 15,110.47. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,144.40 and a low of 15,016.42.

Gold futures ended higher as the dollar ticked lower with the financial uncertainties in Greece and some soft economic data out of the U.S. supporting the precious metal.

The Gold Index gained 1.21 percent, with gold for June delivery gaining $2.50 or 0.2 percent to settle at $1,188.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among gold stocks, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) gained 1.10 percent, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) moved up 2.30 percent, and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) gathered 1.52 percent.

The Capped Materials Index added 0.72 percent, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) moving up 0.25 percent and Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) adding 0.54 percent.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) added 2.12 percent, while Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) gathered 0.50 percent.

Crude oil ended higher in a last-minute turnaround, after official data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have declined more than expected last week, although production continued to remain firm.

A weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil inventories dropped 2.8 million barrels in the week ended May 22, while analysts expected a decline of 1.8 million barrels. This is the fourth straight week of decline for crude oil inventories.

The report showed U.S. crude oil inventories at 479.4 million barrels end last week.

Nonetheless, the EIA said oil production in the U.S. climbed to 9.57 million barrels a day, compared to the output of 9.26 million a week earlier.

The Energy Index fell 0.06 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, gaining $0.17 or 0.3 percent, to settle at $57.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) added 0.50 percent, while Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) fell 0.39 percent. Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) added 0.24 percent, Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) dropped 1.76 percent, and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 0.90 percent.

Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) dipped 1.02 percent, while Legacy Oil + Gas (LEG.TO) fell 1.50 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) slipped 1.17 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index dropped 0.45 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) shed 0.61 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) fell 0.86 percent, and Sherritt International Corp. (S.TO) gathered 2.89 percent.

Teck Resources (TCK-A.TO) gained 1.00 percent after announcing that it will implement temporary shutdowns in the third quarter at its six Canadian steel-making coal operations to align production and inventories with changing coal market conditions.

The heavyweight Financial Index fell 0.12 percent, as Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) moved up 0.19 percent, National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) dipped 0.08 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) fell 1.01 percent.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) fell 1.09 percent, after having reported second quarter adjusted earnings of C$1.14 per share, compared to C$1.09 per share last year. Analysts expected earnings of C$1.11 per share.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 0.16 percent, after having reported second quarter adjusted earnings of C$1.61 per share, while analysts expected earnings of C$1.60 per share.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) gained 0.64 percent, after having reported second quarter adjusted earnings of C$2.28 per share, compared to the consensus estimate of C$2.23 per share. The company also announced a quarterly dividend increase of 3 cents per common share to C$1.09 per share.

The Capped Health Care Index inched up 0.01 percent as Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) dropped 0.19 percent, and Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) fell 0.28 percent.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) climbed 0.84 percent. The company's Salix Pharmaceuticals subsidiary received FDA approval for Xifaxan 550 mg in the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Diarrhea or IBS-D in adults.

The Capped Industrials Index dived 1.51 percent, as Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) shed 1.03 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) plunged 4.12 percent, CAE Inc. (CAE.TO) shed 0.60 percent, and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) dropped 1.71 percent. Nevertheless, Air Canada (AC.TO) gained 0.44 percent and Bombardier Inc. (BBD-A.TO) moved up 1.59 percent.

The Information Technology Index shed 0.08 percent, as BlackBerry Inc. (BB.TO) slipped 1.03 percent, Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) added 0.96 percent, and Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SW.TO) dropped 0.22 percent. Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) surrendered 1.41 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index moved up 0.19 percent, as Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) fell 0.09 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) added 0.19 percent, and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gained 0.36 percent.

Heroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX.TO) gained 3.73 percent, after the company executed a Memorandum of Settlement with UTC Aerospace Systems on May 27.

On the economic front, the Canadian current account deficit widened to C$17.47 billion in the first quarter, according to a report released by Statistics Canada this morning. The deficit in the previous quarter was C$7.25 billion. Economists had expected a deficit of C$18.6 billion.

The Canadian industrial product price index fell by 0.9 percent month-over-month in April. The index was down by 2.4 percent year-over-year.

From the U.S., a Labor Department report on Thursday showed another uptick in initial jobless claims in the week ended May 23, after reporting a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the previous week. Initial jobless claims edged up to 282,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 275,000. Economists expected jobless claims to dip to 270,000 from the 274,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed pending home sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of April, with sales jumping to their highest level in nearly nine years. NAR said its pending home sales index surged 3.4 percent to 112.4 in April from a slightly upwardly revised 108.7 in March. Economists expected the index to increase by about 0.8 percent.

Eurozone economic confidence remained unchanged at its second highest level in nearly four years in May despite the ongoing Greek crisis, survey results from the European Commission showed Thursday. The economic sentiment index held steady at 103.8 in May, while it was forecast to fall to 103.5. This was the second highest score since July 2011. The April figure was revised up from 103.7.

Germany's import prices continued to fall in April but at a slower than expected pace, data from Destatis revealed Thursday. Import prices fell 0.6 percent year-on-year in April, slower than the expected decrease of 0.7 percent and 1.4 percent decline seen in March.

The U.K. economy grew at a slower pace as initially estimated in the first quarter, second estimates published by the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. Gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent in the first quarter, which was weaker than the 0.6 percent seen a quarter ago. This was the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2012.