14.11.2013 22:37:04

TSX Ends Higher On Global Cues, Resource Stocks - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher Thursday, tracking rising global equity markets amid firm commodities, led by gold and energy shares, boosted by statement from Federal Reserve chairwoman-designate Janet Yellen that the central bank is in no hurry to taper down its quantitative easing program.

Janet Yellen, President Obama's choice to lead the Federal Reserve when Chairman Ben Bernanke steps down in January, facing Senate confirmation hearing Thursday morning, said unemployment remains too high for the Fed to consider any significant scale down to its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program..

Yellen, currently Vice Chairman of the central bank, defended the ultra-easy monetary policy that has seen the Fed's balance sheet more than quadruple to nearly $4 trillion since 2008.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 13,431.38, up 60.72 points or 0.45 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 13,460.79 and a low of 13,370.66.

Crude oil pared much of the losses but still ended lower Thursday, after the Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report indicated crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have increased better than expected. Investors also weighed Federal Reserve chairwoman-designate Janet Yellen's statement that the central bank is in no hurry to taper down its quantitative easing program.

The official Energy Information Administration weekly oil report showed U.S. crude oil inventories to have gained 2.60 million barrels, while gasoline stocks shed 0.80 million barrels in the week ended November 8. Analysts expected crude oil stocks to climb 1.0 million barrels and gasoline stocks to dip 300,000 barrels last week.

The Energy Index added 0.85 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropping $0.12 or 0.1 percent to close at $93.76 a barrel Thursday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) gained 1.46 percent, while Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) added 2.31 percent. Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) ended flat at $37.23, while Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) gained 2.57 percent.

The Information Technology Index gained 0.54 percent, with smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) down 0.44 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index slipped 0.04 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) up 2.05 percent, and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) adding 0.45 percent. Teck Resources (TCK_B.TO) dipped 0.11 percent.

The Capped Materials Index inched up 1.02 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) surrendering 1.12 percent.

Gold futures snapped a five-day loss to end sharply higher Thursday, after Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. central bank would likely continue its quantitative easing program for some time in the unforeseen future.

The Global Gold Index gained 2.28 percent, with gold futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, jumping $17.90 or 1.4 percent to close at $1,286.30 an ounce Thursday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) added 2.06 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) added 2.41 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) moved up 3.85 percent, while Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) gained 2.80 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) jumped 6.03 percent, while Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) slipped 0.68 percent.

The Financial Index added 0.24 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) up 0.15 percent, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) slipped 0.11 percent. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) moved up 0.85 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) edged up 0.06 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) up 0.67 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index gained 0.32 percent, with Air Canada (AC.B.TO) shed 0.85 percent, while Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) dropped 0.68 percent.

The Capped Telecommunications Index added 0.25 percent with BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) adding 0.56 percent.

Pan American Silver Corp. (PAA.TO) surged 7.81 percent after reporting third quarter adjusted earnings of $12.2 million or $0.08 per share, compared with analysts expectation of of $0.04 per share for the quarter.

IT services company CGI Group Inc.(GIB_A.TO) gained 4.31 percent after a swing to profit in the fourth quarter, with adjusted earnings of C$213.6 million or C$0.67 per share for the quarter. This compared well with analysts estimate of C$0.62 per share for the quarter.

Media and music retail business company Mood Media Corp. (MM.TO) plummeted 7.84 percent after reporting a wider third-quarter net loss of $87.70 million or $0.51 per share compared to $10.82 million or $0.06 per share in the same quarter last year.

In economic news from Canada, Statistics Canada said the nation's trade deficit narrowed to $435 million in September from $1.1 billion in August as merchandise exports grew 1.8 percent while imports edged up 0.2 percent in September. I Separately, the agency said the New Housing Price Index was unchanged in September, following a 0.1 percent advance in August.

In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 339,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 341,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to fall to 330,000 from the 336,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Separately, the Commerce Department said the nation's trade deficit widened to $41.8 billion in September from a revised $38.7 billion in August. Economists expected the deficit to widen to $39.1 billion. The wider than expected deficit came as the value of imports jumped 1.2 percent to $230.7 billion, while the value of exports edged down 0.2 percent to $188.9 billion.

Labor productivity in the U.S. rose by less than expected in the third quarter, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday, while indicating a bigger than expected decrease in unit labor costs. The report said productivity increased by 1.9 percent in the third quarter compared to the 1.8 percent growth seen in the second quarter. Economists had expected productivity to jump by about 2.3 percent.

Elsewhere, the eurozone economy managed to expand in the third quarter, flash estimates from Eurostat showed. Gross domestic product was up 0.1 percent, down from the 0.3 percent quarterly growth posted in the preceding three months. This was the second consecutive expansion, in line with economists' expectations.

Meanwhile, the German economy grew 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, matching economists' expectation, official data showed. However, economic growth decelerated from the 0.7 percent expansion seen in the second quarter, Destatis said. The statistical office said positive contributions were made only by domestic demand in the third quarter of 2013 and the balance of exports and imports had a downward effect on GDP growth.

U.K. retail sales volume dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month in October due to a notable 1.3 percent fall in non-food store sales, the Office for National Statistics said. The drop in sales volume follows a 0.6 percent rise in September. It was forecast to remain flat in October.

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