TSX Ends Higher After Upbeat Data -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher Wednesday, as investor sentiments rose after the country's trade deficit contracted in June, adding modest gains to the previous session. The major gainers were the financial, healthcare, and information technology sectors, with mining, materials, and energy among losers.

Markets in Europe ended in the positive, due largely to some encouraging corporate earnings news, coupled with some positive eurozone service sector figures and upbeat services sector data out of China also providing a boost to investor sentiment.

Markets in the United States also made some gains. The release of the private sector jobs data eased some of the recent interest rate worries. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart in a Wall Street Journal interview yesterday afternoon said it would take "a significant deterioration in the economic picture" to persuade the Fed not to raise rates in September.

After reporting a sharp jump in private sector employment in the previous month, payroll processor ADP report on Wednesday showed the pace of private sector job growth to have slowed more than expected in July.

A Commerce Department report on Wednesday showed the U.S. trade deficit to have widened more than expected in June, largely reflecting a jump in the value of imports.

Meanwhile, activity in the U.S. service sector expanded at a significantly faster rate in July, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 14,502.99, up 11.94 points or 0.08 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,622.35 and a low of 14,484.69.

On Tuesday, the index closed up 22.61 points or 0.16 percent, at 14,491.05. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,515.79 and a low of 14,424.89.

Gold futures ended at a fresh five-year low with investors anticipating an imminent rate hike, even as the dollar fluctuated after some mixed economic data from the U.S.

The Gold Index fell 1.42 percent, with gold for August delivery shedding $5.10 or 0.5 percent, to settle at $1,085.60 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Among gold stocks, IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) fell 6.52 percent, B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) shed 3.65 percent, and Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) gained 0.9 percent.

Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) fell 1.03 percent, Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) dropped 2.99 percent, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) plunged 4.18 percent, and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) fell 3.34 percent.

The Capped Materials Index slid 1.34 percent, as Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) moved up 0.03 percent, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) ended flat at $35.99 a share.

Crude oil futures ended lower on continued supply glut fears despite official data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have declined more than expected last week.

The Energy Index fell 0.58 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, declining $0.59 or 1.3 percent, to settle at $45.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) added 0.80 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 1.06 percent, and Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) dipped 0.30 percent

Among other energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) moved up 0.28 percent, and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) plummeted 2.89 percent.

Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) fell 0.83 percent, while Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) added 0.59 percent. Enbridge (ENB.TO) rose 1.09 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index plummeted 3.19 percent, as Teck Resources Limited (TCK-B.TO) fell 1.07 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) dipped 1.71 percent, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) plunged 6.32 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index dropped 0.54 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gathered 0.96 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) jumped 0.92 percent, and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gathered 0.94 percent.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) gained 0.56 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) advanced 0.46 percent, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) added 0.83 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index gained 1.53 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) moved up 0.12 percent, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) gained 2.94 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index gathered 0.79 percent, as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) ended flat at $10.02 a share. Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) added 1.37 percent, and Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) gained 2.33 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index gained 0.56 percent, as Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) dipped 0.02 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) gained 0.84 percent, Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) added 0.88 percent, and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gathered 0.59 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index slipped 0.05 percent, as Bombardier (BBD.B.TO) plummeted 3.43 percent and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) also shed 3.43 percent.

Canaccord Genuity Group (CF.TO) rose 1.99 percent, after . The company reported first quarter adjusted EPS of $0.10, compared to $0.20 in the prior year.

Sirius XM Canada (XSR.TO) added 0.20 percent, after its CFO Michael Washinushi announced his resignation.

Fiera Capital Corp. (FSZ.TO) gained 3.65 percent, after reporting second quarter earnings of C$0.11 per share and raised its quarterly dividend by 8 percent.

Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF.TO) added 2.62 percent, after reporting a second quarter profit of $0.05 per share, compared to $0.07 a share last year.

SEMAFO Inc. (SMF.TO) gained 2.91 percent, after its second quarter earnings from continuing operations rose to C$0.07 per share from C$0.05 per share in the previous year.

On the economic front, data from Statistics Canada showed that Canada's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to C$476 million in June from C$3.4 billion in May, driven by a sharp rebound in exports. Consensus were for a decline in trade deficit to C$2.9 billion. Canada's exports increased 6.3 percent in June, while imports declined 0.6 percent.

From the U.S., payroll processor ADP said Wednesday private sector employment climbed by 185,000 jobs in July following a downwardly revised increase of 229,000 jobs in June. Economists expected an increase of about 215,000 jobs compared to the addition of 237,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

U.S. trade deficit widened to $43.8 billion in June from a revised $40.9 billion in May. Economists expected the deficit to increase to $43.0 billion from the $41.9 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Activity in the U.S. service sector expanded at a significantly faster rate in July, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed Wednesday. The ISM's non-manufacturing index jumped to 60.3 in July from 56.0 in June, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists expected the index inch up to 56.2.

The services sector in China continued to expand in July at an accelerated pace, a survey from Caixin showed Wednesday, with a PMI score of 53.8. That's up from 51.8 in June, and above the boom-or-bust level of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Eurozone retail sales declined more-than-expected in June, after rising in the previous two months, figures from Eurostat showed Wednesday. Retail sales fell by seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent month-on-month in June, in contrast to a 0.1 percent slight increase in May, which was revised down from a 0.2 percent climb. The expected rate of drop was 0.2 percent. In April, sales had risen 0.7 percent.

The rate of expansion in Eurozone economic activity slowed slightly at the start of the third quarter, final data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. Nonetheless, growth remained close to June's four-year high. The composite output index fell to 53.9 in July from 54.2 in June. It was above the flash estimate of 53.7.

German private sector growth remained unchanged in July, final data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The composite output index came in at 53.7 in July, unchanged from June. The flash score for July was 53.4.

The U.K. services sector growth slowed more than expected in July, survey data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. Still the survey signaled strong growth in the dominant services sector moving into the second half of 2015.

The Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 57.4 in July, from 58.5 in June. It was forecast to drop marginally to 58 in July.

Shop prices in the United Kingdom were down 1.4 percent on year in July, the British Retail Consortium said on Wednesday - after slipping 1.3 percent in June.

The French private sector growth eased to a three-month low as initially estimated in July, final data from Markit Economics showed Wednesday. The composite output index fell to 51.5 in July from 53.3 in June. The reading came in line with flash estimate published on July 24. It signals the slowest growth rate in three months.