TSX Ends Lower As Raw Material Stocks Flounder -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower for a third straight session on Tuesday, tracking declining global equity markets as gold and raw materials stocks plummeted, even as oil prices rallied but still ended in the negative.

Earlier in the day, stocks gained ground, bouncing back from the weakness of the previous session, largely due to optimism for the U.S. earnings reporting season.

Aluminum giant Alcoa reported better than expected results after the bell yesterday, unofficially kicking off the U.S. reporting season on a positive note. Broker upgrades of several large U.S. technology companies have also provided a boost.

Oil prices fell to a 6-year low this morning, dropping to $45 per barrel, but have since stabilized to end a few cents lower. The continued weakness was attributed to statements from OPEC members, who said that they are not planning to reduce output.

There was little economic data on offer today, but investors are looking forward to the release of the U.S. retail sales data, which is due for release on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 14,187.16, down 77.85 points or 0.55 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,369.84 and a low of 14,074.95.

On Monday, the index closed down 119.91 points or 0.83 percent, at 14,265.01. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,378.32 and a low of 14,122.38.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index tanked 9.25 percent, as Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) dived 5.97 percent, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) plunged 14.85 percent, and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) plummeted 9.13 percent. Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) dropped 2.02 percent, Capstone Mining (CS.TO) tanked 17.10 percent, while HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) tumbled 11.81 percent

Crude oil rallied towards the close but still ended lower ahead of the official weekly oil report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and after a top Middle East oil producer said it will not curb production anytime soon. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will stick to its decision to keep oil output unchanged even if prices continue to fall, the United Arab Emirates' oil minister said Tuesday.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly U.S. crude oil inventories report later today, while the official data from the U.S. Energy Department is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Energy Index gained 0.37 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for February delivery slipping $0.18 or 0.3 percent to close at $45.89 a barrel on the Nymex Tuesday.

Among energy stocks, ARC Resources Ltd. (ARX.TO) jumped 4.06 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) added 0.41 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 1.43 percent, and Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) moved up 0.95 percent.

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) plunged 7.19 percent, Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) inched up 0.07 percent, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) fell 1.07 percent and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) surrendered 1.13 percent.

Gold futures ended higher for a third straight session on Tuesday, with investors seeking the safety of the precious metal as U.S. equity markets continued to fluctuate on plummeting oil prices.

The Global Gold Index plunged 5.10 percent, with gold for February delivery up $1.60 or 0.1 percent to settle at $1,234.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Among gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) plummeted 13.73 percent, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) fell 3.92 percent, and Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) dropped 5.48 percent.

Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) fell 4.88 percent, Barrick Gold Corp .(ABX.TO) shed 6.04 percent, and Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) surrendered 4.92 percent.

The Capped Materials Index plunged 4.73 percent, mostly on declining gold stocks, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) down 3.24 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index dipped 0.07 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) inched up 0.04 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dipped 0.27 percent, and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) shed 0.24 percent.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) fell 0.14 percent, while Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) surrendered 1.54 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) gained 0.72 percent.

The Healthcare Index moved up 0.21 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) gained 1.47 percent, Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) edged up 0.34 percent, and Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) shed 1.23 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index dropped 0.25 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) up 2.80 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) down 1.20 percent.

The Information Technology Index gained 0.53 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) shedding 4.21 percent, Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) down 0.55 percent, and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) up 1.22 percent. Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) jumped 4.61 percent.

First Majestic Silver (FR.TO) dropped 1.19 percent, after the company announced its total production during 2014 to have reached a new record of 15,257,958 equivalent ounces of silver, representing a 19% increase over 2013.

Sirius XM Canada (XSR.TO) surged 11.42 percent, after reporting a first-quarter profit of C$0.06 per share on Monday, up from C$0.04 per share in the prior-year quarter. Analysts expected earnings of C$0.04 per share for the quarter.

Vecima Networks (VCM.TO) gained 4.26 percent, after revealing the signing of a supply agreement with a major MSO, to support its all-digital conversion across the U.S.

In economic news, China's trade surplus decreased slightly less than expected in December as exports rose more than forecast while imports continued to fall, although at a slower than expected rate, data from the customs office showed on Tuesday.

China's trade surplus dropped to $49.6 billion in December from November's record high of $54.48 billion. Economists expected the trade surplus to decrease to $49 billion.

Germany's wholesale price decline accelerated for a second straight month in December with prices falling the most in five years during the whole year 2014, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. The wholesale price index fell 2.3 percent year-on-year in December, faster than November's 1.1 percent decline. In October, prices dropped 0.7 percent.

Elsewhere in Europe, U.K. inflation slowed more-than-expected to its lowest since May 2000 on lower fuel prices, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. Inflation halved to 0.5 percent in December from 1 percent in November. It was expected to ease to 0.7 percent.

Another report from ONS today showed that output prices in U.K. declined at a faster pace of 0.8 percent annually in December after falling 0.6 percent in November. It was faster than the 0.4 percent drop forecast by economists.