TSX Ends Higher On Data, Global Cues - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher Friday, driven by commodity stocks on some mixed economic data out of the U.S., while tracking rising global equity markets ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee policy meet next week. Nevertheless, big gains were capped over speculation of a modest cut to the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program at the end of its policy meet next week, weighed on sentiment.

In some soft economic news, retail sales in the U.S. rose less than expected in August, while a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. to have deteriorated much more than anticipated in September. On the positive side, U.S. business inventories rose more than expected in July, even as producer prices climbed more than anticipated in August, helped by notable increases in food and energy prices.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday at 12,723.40, up 22.35 points or 0.18 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,761.08 and a low of 12,701.14.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index shed 0.90 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) down 0.59 percent, Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) up 5.65 percent, and Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) dropped 1.37 percent. Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) shed 1.04 percent.

The Capped Materials Index jumped 1.41 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) up 2.32 percent and Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) up 1.32 percent.

The Global Gold Index gained 1.81 percent, although gold futures for December delivery plummeted $22.00 or 1.7 percent to close at $1,308.60 an ounce Friday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) gained 0.82 percent, while Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) added 2.46 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) jumped 5.20 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) gained 2.01 percent. Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) added 1.52 percent.

Crude oil prices ended lower after some mixed economic data out of the U.S. fueled concerns of lower energy demand with speculations of an impending U.S. Federal Reserve move to scale down its quantitative easing program.

The Energy Index added 0.25 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for October delivery dropping $0.39 or 0.4 percent to close at $108.21 a barrel Friday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 0.64 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) dropped 0.09 percent, and Suncor Energy Inc.(SU.TO) gained 0.32 percent. Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) slipped 0.31 percent.

The Financial Index surrendered 0.36 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) down 0.08 percent and Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) dropping 0.62 percent. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) dipped 0.20 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) fell 0.44 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) surrendered 0.67 percent.

The Information Technology Index shed 0.60 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) down 1.49 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index gained 0.39 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) up 0.40 percent.

TransCanada Corp. (TRP.TO) slipped 0.24 percent after announcing a settlement with local natural gas distribution companies in Ontario and Quebec in connection with the access to Dawn and Niagara supplies.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said industries operated at 80.6 percent of their production capacity in the second quarter, down slightly from 80.8 percent in the previous quarter, with both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors making comparable contributions to the decrease.

In economic news from the U.S, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in August following an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in July. Economists had expected sales to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent growth originally reported for the previous month. Excluding an increase in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in August compared to a 0.6 percent increase in July.

Separately, the US Labor Department said its producer price index rose by 0.3 percent in August after coming in unchanged in July. The index had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, the core producer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, came in unchanged in August after inching up by 0.1 percent in the previous month.

A Commerce Department report on Friday showed U.S. business inventories to have risen more than expected in the month of July. Business inventories climbed by 0.4 percent in July following a revised 0.1 percent increase in June. Economists expected inventories to increase by 0.3 percent.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated much more than anticipated in September, a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed Friday. A preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for September came in at 76.8, down from August's final reading of 82.1. Economists expected the index to edge down to 82.0. The consumer sentiment index dropped to its lowest level since hitting 76.4 in April.

Meanwhile, the pace of decline in the number of employed persons in euro area eased in the second quarter, according to the latest data released by Eurostat. Employment fell 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to 145 million in the second quarter, slower than a 0.4 percent drop recorded in the first quarter. On an annual basis, employment fell 1 percent, at the same pace as in the previous quarter.

Elsewhere, production in the British construction sector increased in July after falling in the previous month as the volumes of both new work and maintenance increased, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed. The volume of output in the construction sector grew a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent sequentially in July, recovering from the the 1.1 percent decrease recorded in June.