TSX Ends Higher As Commodity Prices Rise -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks snapped a seven-day losing streak to end higher on Tuesday, tracking rising global equity markets after commodity prices rebounded, with crude oil sending energy stocks up. The rebound was driven by energy, mining and financial sectors, although gold stocks lagged.

The market has ended in the red for seven consecutive sessions, snapping its longest run of losses in four years, with Chinese stocks pulling back from its plunge on Monday.

The Shanghai stock exchange closed Tuesday down 1.7 percent, after having slumped a near 8.5 percent yesterday. The Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated sharply during the session, having traded as much as down 5 percent and a near 1 percent high intraday.

Markets in Europe ended in the green after five days of losses. Encouraging corporate earnings reports and M&A news has helped offset recent concerns about a slowdown in China.

Markets in the United States ended in positive territory, with the S&P 500, the Dow Jones, and the Nasdaq all ending firmly in the green. Bargain hunting also contributed to some early strength on Wall Street following the weakness in the five previous sessions. Investors are still keenly awaiting Wednesday's Fed announcement on its monetary policy.

The two-day Federal Reserve meeting kicked off today, with the monetary policy announcement expected tomorrow. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on the conclusion of its 2-day meet on Wednesday, with investors firmly focused on the Fed statement for any hints about the timing of the first rate hike.

With home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas unexpectedly showing a monthly decrease in May, a Standard & Poor's report on Tuesday showed the annual rate of price growth during the month came in well below economist estimates.

Confidence among U.S. consumers deteriorated substantially in July, a report from the Conference Board showed Tuesday, with the index tumbling more than estimated.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 14,077.36, up 75.99 points or 0.54 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,104.30 and a low of 13,938.90.

On Monday, the index closed down 184.87 points or 1.30 percent, at 14,001.37. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,112.13 and a low of 13,956.05.

Gold futures ended a tad lower as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies and equity markets in the U.S. and Europe recovered to trade higher, even as the volatile Chinese stocks cut down on the losses seen yesterday.

The Gold Index gained 0.41 percent, although gold for August delivery dropped $0.20, to settle at $1,096.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) shed 0.91 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) dipped 0.12 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) gathered 1.57 percent.

IAMGOLD Corp. jumped 5.20 percent, while Royal Gold, Inc. (RGL.TO) gained 1.28 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) surged 4.35 percent, while Lake Shore Gold Corp. (LSG.TO) moved up 1.82 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) dropped 0.67 percent.

The Capped Materials Index plummeted 3.11 percent, as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) fell 0.65 percent, Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) dipped 1.39 percent, and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) dipped 0.03 percent.

Crude oil futures ended higher ahead of the official weekly oil report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration with traders anticipating a decline in stockpiles.

The Energy Index jumped 2.03 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, gaining $0.59 or 1.2 percent, to settle at $47.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 1.41 percent, while Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) jumped 5.07 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) added 1.97 percent, while Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) added 0.97 percent.

Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) moved up 1.65 percent, while Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) added 1.85 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) moved up 0.56 a share.

Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) jumped 4.21 percent after reporting a second quarter profit of $120 million, compared to $628 million a year ago. The company also declared a second quarter dividend of C$0.30 per share on its common shares.

MEG Energy Corp. (MEG.TO) gained 1.80percent, after the company reported a second quarter profit of $0.28 per share, compared to a loss of $2.27 per share a year ago.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index added 1.56 percent, as Teck Resources Limited (TCK-B.TO) surged 7.14 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) jumped 4.86 percent.

First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) plummeted 4.33 percent, after the company reported getting reduced electricity to its Kansanshi operation from ZESCO, Zambia's state-run power company.

Sherritt International Corp. (S.TO) remained unchanged at $1.35 a share, after having plummeted 11.76 percent on Monday. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) dipped 0.24 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index moved up 0.45 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gathered 1.07 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) added 0.43 percent, and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) inched up 0.14 percent.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) dropped 1.44 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) added 0.57 percent, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 0.35 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index gathered 0.53 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) slipped 1.06 percent, Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) gained 0.59 percent, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) moved up 0.99 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index moved up 1.40 percent, as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) surged 6.00 percent, Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) gained 0.81 percent, and Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) gathered 1.67 percent. CAE Inc. (CAE.TO) added 0.69 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index inched up 0.15 percent, as Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) shed 0.35 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) gained 0.52 percent, Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) added 0.78 percent, and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) down 0.34 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index added 0.83 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD-B.TO) gaining 2.25 percent, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) up 0.91 percent, and Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) gathering 1.45 percent.

WestJet Airlines (WJA.TO) shed 3.71 percent, after reporting a second quarter profit of C$0.49 per share, compared to C$0.40 per share in the prior year.

First National Financial (FN.TO) gained 1.08 percent, having reported a second quarter profit of $0.68 per share, compared to $0.44 a share last year.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday morning that the Canadian Industrial Product Price index rose by 0.5 percent in June. Economists had expected an increase of 0.3 percent.

From the U.S., a Standard & Poor's report on Tuesday showed the annual rate of price growth during May to be well below economist estimates, with home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas unexpectedly declining.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose 4.9 percent year-over-year in May, reflecting a modest slowdown from the upwardly revised 5.0 percent growth seen in April. Economists expected the annual rate of price growth to accelerate to 5.6 percent from the 4.9 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Confidence among U.S. consumers has seen a substantial deterioration in the month of July, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 90.9 in July from a downwardly revised 99.8 in June. Economists expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to a reading of 99.6 from the 101.4 originally reported for the previous month.

A measure of future economic activity in eurozone rose for the seventh successive month in June, signaling a modest recovery in economic activity through the balance of the year, the Conference Board said Monday. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, or LEI, for the euro area increased 0.4 percent to 107.1, after a 0.3 percent rise in May. In April, the index rose by 0.5 percent.

French unemployment rose marginally to a fresh record in June, data released by the labor ministry revealed late Monday. The number of unemployed increased 1,300 in June from the prior month to 3.55 million. From a year ago, it rose by 4.7 percent.

U.K. economic growth accelerated in the second quarter driven by an improvement in services output, which has again fueled debate over the timing of the interest rate hike. Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent sequentially, in line with forecast, following a 0.4 percent rise in the first quarter, preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.

House price inflation in England and Wales reached its 3-month high in June, after easing in the previous nine months, data from the Land Registry showed Tuesday. The house price index rose 5.4 percent year-over-year in June, faster than previous month's 4.6 percent climb. The latest rate of inflation was the highest since March, when prices grew the same 5.4 percent.