TSX Ends Above 15,000 As Resource Stocks Gain -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher for a fifth day in a row Thursday, after some upbeat data from the U.S. helped record strong gains in the energy and gold sector, pushing the main index above the 15,000-mark to a 7-week high.

Markets cheered some positive economic data from the U.S., with a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report showing its manufacturing activity index to have jumped to its highest level in over twenty years in November, while a Conference Board index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose more than anticipated in October.

Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices unchanged in October, with higher prices for services offsetting a steep drop in energy prices. The National Association of Realtors report showed an unexpected increase in U.S. existing home sales in October.

Investors largely ignored some tepid data from China and the eurozone, with a weak reading on Chinese manufacturing activity in November and eurozone private sector growth unexpectedly slowing to a sixteen-month low.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 15,075.18, up 95.03 points or 0.63 percent. The index scaled a intraday high of 15,075.18 and a low of 14,948.20.

On Wednesday, the index ended up 7.18 points or 0.05 percent at 14,980.15, after some soft data from the U.S. with the Federal Reserve minutes indicating some concerns about deflation in the world's largest economy.

Crude oil ended higher amid mounting speculation the OPEC may cut production to keep a check on prices at its meeting in Vienna next week, although some OPEC members have indicated they would rather keep production high and cut prices than reduce output.

The Energy Index surged 2.75 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for January delivery jumping $1.35 or 1.8 percent to close at $75.85 a barrel on the Nymex Thursday.

Pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. (TRP.TO) inched up 0.09 percent after announcing plans to spend $46 billion through 2020 to connect shale and oil sands in Western Canada with markets.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 2.53 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) gained 3.98 percent, Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) added 2.95 percent, Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) advanced 2.03 percent, and Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) moved up 1.00 percent.

Encana Corp. (ECA:TSX) gained 1.88 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) added 3.69 percent, and Enbridge, Inc. (ENB.TO) gained 0.79 percent.

Gold futures ended lower after a slew of mostly encouraging economic data from the U.S., including weakly jobless claims and a report on consumer price inflation.

Nevertheless, the Global Gold Index gained 2.77 percent, with gold for December delivery shedding $3.00 or 0.3 percent to settle at $1,190.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

In the gold space, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) added 3.87 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) gained 2.68 percent, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) gathered 3.12 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) moved up 2.23 percent.

Detour Gold Corp. (DGC.TO) jumped 5.08 percent, IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) jumped 4.02 percent, and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) added 3.43 percent.

The Capped Materials Index gained 1.91 percent, mostly on rising gold stocks, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) gaining 1.50 percent.

The Healthcare Index inched up 0.11 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) down 0.14 percent, Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) added 0.11 percent and Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) added 0.44 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index gained 0.29 percent, as Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 0.30 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) added 0.32 percent, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) inched up 0.02 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) gained 0.31 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) shed 0.65 percent, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 0.07 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index advanced 1.18 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) gaining 0.45percent, Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) up 1.50 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) up 1.10 percent, and Sherritt International Corp. (S.TO) up 2.29 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index gathered 0.30 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) up 2.63 percent and Air Canada (AC) up 0.30 percent.

The Information Technology Index dropped 1.13 percent with smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) down 1.56 percent, a day after falling sharply on downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Among other tech stocks, CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO) dropped 1.82 percent, Open Text Corporation (OTC.TO) dropped 1.09 percent, and Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) fell 1.84 percent.

The Telecom Index dived 1.53 percent with Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) down 1.05 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) down 2.11 percent, and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) down 1.55 percent.

The Consumer Discretionary Index moved up 0.13 percent, with Tim Hortons Inc. (THI.TO) gained 0.61 percent after indicating coffee and breakfast sandwich prices are set to rise next week. Shares rose 0.2 percent.

The Consumer Staples Index shed 1.46 percent, with Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) dropped 2.56 percent, Saputo Inc. (SAP.TO) gained 0.97 percent, and George Weston Limited (WN.TO) down 0.43 percent.

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.A.TO) dropped 2.04 percent after indicating on Wednesday it would not buy Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

GM Canada has named Stephen Carlisle as new president. Carlisle, who had been vice-president of global product planning and program management of General Motors Co., will replace Kevin Williams.

In economic news from Canada, wholesale sales Canada rose 1.8 percent to C$54 billion, as compared to economists anticipated 0.8 percent rise.

Sales rose 1.8 percent to C$54 billion ($47.6 billion), Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa, compared with the median estimate for a 0.8 percent increase

In economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decrease in the week ended November 15, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. Initial jobless claims edged down to 291,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 293,000. Economists expected jobless claims to dip to 284,000 from the 290,000 originally reported for the previous week.

A report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed existing home sales in the U.S. to have unexpectedly declined in October. NAR said existing home sales climbed 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26 million in October from an upwardly revised 5.18 million in September. Economists expected existing home sales to edge down to 5.15 million from the 5.17 million originally reported for the previous month.

The Conference Board report on Thursday showed its index of leading U.S. economic indicators to have risen more than anticipated in October, indicating continued economic growth through the holiday season and into early 2015. The Conference Board's leading economic index rose by 0.9 percent in October following a 0.7 percent increase in September. Economists expected the index to rise by 0.5 percent.

A Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia report on Thursday showed its index of manufacturing activity jumped to its highest level in over twenty years in November, after reporting a modest slowdown in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the previous month. The Philly Fed's diffusion index for current activity surged to 40.8 in November from 20.7 in October, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists expected the index to drop to a reading of 18.0.

With higher prices for services offsetting a steep drop in energy prices, a Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices to have come in unchanged in October. The consumer price index was unchanged in October after inching up by 0.1 percent in September. Economists expected consumer prices to edge down by 0.1 percent.

China's manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index fell to its lowest level in six months, preliminary figures from HSBC and Markit Economics revealed on Thursday. The HSBC manufacturing PMI came in at 50.0 in November- shy of expectations for 50.2 and down from 50.4 in October.

Private sector growth in the eurozone slowed unexpectedly to a 16-month low in November, as new orders dropped for the first time since July 2013. Private sector activity in Germany also posted the weakest growth in 16 months, while France continued to contract in November. The eurozone composite output index dropped to 51.4 in November, the lowest score since July of last year, from 52.1 in October, flash estimate from Markit Economics showed Thursday. Economists had forecast an increase to 52.3.

Elsewhere in Europe, U.K. retail sales grew more than expected in October on strong recovery in non-food store sales, data showed Thursday. Retail sales volume including auto fuel advanced 0.8 percent in October from September, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Economists expected sales to recover at a slower pace of 0.3 percent after falling 0.4 percent in September.