TSX Ends Higher On Upbeat Data - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher Tuesday, driven mainly by telecom and resource stocks after possibilities of an immediate military strike on Syria by the West receded, with some upbeat manufacturing data out of the U.S. and China indicating economic growth may gather pace in the coming months in the two largest economies in the world.

President Barack Obama expressed confidence the Congress would approve his military action against Syria, speaking prior to a White House meeting. Nevertheless, President Obama's decision to carry out a limited air strike against Syria may be delayed until at least next week as Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said they have more confidence the White House is developing a better strategy to back use of military force. Earlier, news of two missiles test fired by Israel into the Mediterranean had investors worried.

China's manufacturing sector performance strengthened in August, suggesting the overall economic growth may gather pace in the coming months in the world's second largest economy, according to separate surveys. After reporting the biggest monthly jump in manufacturing activity in seventeen years in the previous month, manufacturing activity in the U.S. expanded at an even faster rate in August, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 12,740.50, up 86.60 points or 0.68 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,828.13 and a low of 12,654.31.

Telecommunications shares were in focus after Verizon Communications agreed to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone Group out of its U.S. wireless business and said it is not planning to enter Canadian wireless market.

Among telecom stocks, Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI_B.TO) surged 7.21 percent, while Telus (T.TO) jumped 6.75 percent each, BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gathered 3.87 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index gained 2.50 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) up 2.06 percent, Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) up 2.10 percent, and Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) up 3.24 percent. Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) jumped 5.30 percent.

The Capped Materials Index declined 1.18 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) edging up 0.16 percent.

The Global Gold Index moved up 0.72 percent, with gold futures for December delivery jumping $15.90 or 1.1 percent to close at $1,412.00 an ounce Tuesday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) gained 2.04 percent, while Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) moved up 1.03 percent. Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) gained 0.58 percent, B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) gained 1.43 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) was up 1.03 percent, and IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) gathered 0.79 percent.

The Energy Index advanced 0.75 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for October delivery gaining $0.89 or 0.8 percent to close at $108.54 a barrel Friday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 2.08 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) slipped 0.44 percent, and Suncor Energy Inc.(SU.TO) up 1.89 percent.

The Financial Index added 0.49 percent with Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) up 0.83 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) up 0.74 percent, and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) up 0.12 percent. Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) added 1.16 percent, while National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gained 0.64 percent.

The Information Technology Index dipped 0.45 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) adding 1.03 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index moved up 0.36 percent, although Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) slipped 0.84 percent.

Blackstar Group SE (BLCK.L) announced the sale of about 71.61 million ordinary shares in Litha Healthcare Group Ltd. to Paladin Labs Inc. (PLB.TO) for about 12.6 million pounds. Paladin Labs added 1.72 percent

In economic news from the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management said its purchasing managers index edged up to 55.7 in August from 55.4 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating an increase in manufacturing activity. The modest increase by the index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to dip to a reading of 53.8. With the unexpected increase, the index added to the 4.5-point.

Separately, the US Commerce Department said construction spending rose 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $900.8 billion in July from the revised June estimate of $895.7 billion. Economists had been expecting spending to increase by about 0.3 percent.

China's manufacturing sector performance strengthened in August, with the purchasing managers' index, a gauge of factory activity, increasing to a 16-month high of 51 in August from 50.3 in July, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) and the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

A survey by HSBC and Markit Economics the final China PMI reading was 50.1 in August, up from a 11-month low of 47.7 in July. This ended a three-month period of deterioration. The index score matched the flash reading.

Industrial producer prices in the euro area increased for a second consecutive month in July, data published by Eurostat revealed. The producer price index of the industrial sector, excluding construction, rose 0.2 percent year-on-year in July following a 0.3 percent increase in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent rise.