TSX Ends Lower After Six-Day Gain -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks snapped a six-day gain to end lower on Thursday, tracking declining global equity markets, driven by weak performances at healthcare, financial, industrial, information tech sectors.

Although majority of the sectors ended in the red, resource stocks made gains despite the continued drop in crude oil prices.

All major European markets ended in negative territory, with lower oil prices, a mixed bag of corporate earnings and economic data weighing on investor sentiment.

The Bank of England kept its key rate unchanged at a record low in a split vote in August as the majority of policymakers waited for signs of price pressures before starting monetary policy tightening.

Markets in the United States also ended in the red, with investors playing it cautious ahead of the monthly jobs report coming up on Friday, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates. A strong report would likely add to speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in September, while a weak report could provide ammunition for more dovish central bankers to argue that the rate hike should be delayed.

Following the rebound seen in the previous week, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw some further upside in the week ended August 1, a Labor Department report showed Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 14,405.91, down 97.08 points or 0.67 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,499.43 and a low of 14,378.62.

On Wednesday, the index closed up 11.94 points or 0.08 percent, at 14,502.99. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,622.35 and a low of 14,484.69.

Gold futures rebounded to end higher following a sell-off in major global equity markets ahead of the crucial weekly employment data and supported by the dollar trending lower against a basket of some major currencies.

The Gold Index added 1.96 percent, with gold for August delivery gaining $4.50 or 0.4 percent, to settle at $1,090.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among gold stocks, B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) jumped 6.06 percent, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) soared 6.22 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) added 1.84 percent, Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) moved up 0.24 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) added 3.06 percent.

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) gained 3.69 percent, after reporting second quarter adjusted earnings of $0.05 per share, in line with expectations.

IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) soared 14.53 percent, after having reported a second quarter loss of $0.08 per share, compared to a profit of $0.02 per share in the prior year.

The Capped Materials Index gathered 1.04 percent, as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) shed 1.75 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) gathered 3.20 percent.

Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) dropped 2.76 percent. The company reported stronger than expected second quarter earnings, but trimmed the upper end of its full year profit forecast.

Crude oil futures ended lower amid continued worries of a global supply glut, even as official data from the Energy Information Administration yesterday showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have declined more than expected last week.

The Energy Index jumped 1.63 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, declined $0.49 or 1.1 percent, to settle at $44.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) fell 0.69 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 0.51 percent, and Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) jumped 4.58 percent

Among other energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) moved up 1.45 percent, and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) added 2.76 percent.

Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) jumped 4.17 percent, Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) added 1.01 percent, and Enbridge (ENB.TO) dropped 0.72 percent.

Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) added 1.92 percent. The company reported a second quarter loss of $0.02 per share, compared to the profit of $0.32 per share last year.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index surged 3.24 percent, as Teck Resources Limited (TCK-B.TO) jumped 5.10 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) dipped 1.09 percent, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) soared 8.32 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index dropped 0.73 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gathered 0.54 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) fell 0.85 percent, and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) dropped 0.18 percent.

Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) surged 5.44 percent, after reporting second quarter earnings of C$1.18 per share, up from C$0.69 per share in the previous year.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) fell 0.82 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) advanced 0.46 percent, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) slipped 0.83 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index gained 1.53 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) dropped 5.95 percent, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) gained 5.55 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index gathered 1.12 percent, as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) gained 0.30 percent, Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) fell 2.45 percent, and Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) dipped 0.90 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index gained 0.73 percent, as Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) added 0.59 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) gained 0.65 percent, and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) added 1.56 percent

BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) inched up 0.09 percent, after reporting second quarter adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share, in line with expectations. BCE also confirmed its financial guidance targets for 2015.

The Capped Industrials Index slipped 1.28 percent, as Bombardier (BBD.B.TO) fell 3.14 percent and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) gained 1.12 percent.

Air Canada (AC.TO) jumped 4.52 percent, after reporting a July load factor of 87.3 percent, compared to 86.7 percent last year.

WestJet Airline Ltd. (WJA.TO) gained 4.08 percent. The airline reported a July load factor of 82.8 percent, down from 83.3 percent a year ago.

Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (PBH.TO) inched up 0.03 percent, having reported second quarter adjusted earnings of $0.47 per share, compared to $0.32 per share last year.

On the economic front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged up to 270,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 267,000. Economists expected jobless claims to rise to 273,000. With the modest increase, jobless claims climbed further off the more than forty-year low of 255,000 set in the week ended July 18.

German manufacturing new orders surged in June, driven by robust demand from abroad, thanks to a weaker euro, dispelling concerns of a slowdown in the largest euro area economy.

Factory orders in Germany rose a seasonally-and-calendar adjusted 2 percent from May, when they declined 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistical Office said Thursday. May's drop was downwardly revised from the 0.2 percent fall estimated initially. Economists expected a mere 0.3 percent increase for the month. In April, orders grew 2.2 percent.

Germany's construction sector expanded at the weakest pace in six months in July, as output growth eased and new orders fell, survey figures from Markit Economics showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, dropped marginally to 50.6 in July from 50.7 in the previous month.

U.K. industrial production declined unexpectedly on a slump in oil and gas extraction in June, while manufacturing output recovered from the prior month.

Confounding expectations for a 0.1 percent increase, industrial production dropped 0.4 percent in June from May, when it rose a revised 0.3 percent, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. This was the first fall in five months.

U.K. house prices dropped unexpectedly in July from June, data from Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division revealed Thursday. House prices decreased 0.6 percent from June, which was the first fall in five months and confounding expectations for a 0.4 percent rise. Prices had increased 1.6 percent in June.