TSX Ends Lower As Resource Stocks Fall - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower Tuesday, weighed down by resource stocks after commodity prices plummeted as fears of a possible military strike against Syria by the U.S. and its allies eased considerably. Syria accepted a Russian plan to hand over control of its chemical weapons arsenal to an international agency.

The U.S. and its allies also were not averse to the proposal by Russia that Syria handover its chemical weapons to some international agency for destruction, which could considerably ease tensions in the region. Nonetheless, President Barack Obama continued with efforts to get approval from lawmakers for his military option.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said his country accepted the Russian initiative. "The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the Russian initiative, motivated by the Syrian leadership's concern for the lives of our citizens and the security of our country," Moallem said.

The downtrend was limited after a slew of upbeat data from China signaling the world's second largest economy may have started to recover in the third quarter. After some strong data on trade and inflation, China reported better than expected retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 12,824.48, down 30.16 points or 0.23 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,854.64 and a low of 12,793.70.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index gained 1.16 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) up 1.77 percent, Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) down 5.71 percent, and Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) up 0.58 percent. Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) gathered 0.83 percent.

The Capped Materials Index shed 1.88 percent, although Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) jumped 3.28 percent after speculation of a resolution of differences with Russia over the Belarus consortium split yesterday.

The Global Gold Index plummeted 4.77 percent, with gold futures for December delivery plunging $22.70 or 1.6 percent to close at $1,364.00 an ounce Tuesday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) plunged 4.32 percent, while Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) plummeted 5.38 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) shed 2.55 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) slumped 6.72 percent. Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) slipped 2.81 percent.

U.S. crude oil ended sharply lower Tuesday, on easing concerns of a possible military strike against Syria with the civil war ravaged country agreeing to a Russian proposal to hand over control of its chemical weapons.

The Energy Index slipped 0.39 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for October delivery plummeting $2.13 or 1.9 percent to close at $107.39 a barrel Tuesday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 0.34 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) dropped 1.46 percent, and Suncor Energy Inc.(SU.TO) shed 1.01 percent.

The Financial Index slipped 0.15 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) down 0.48 percent, Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) up 0.56 percent, and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) down 0.14 percent. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) inched up 0.03 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.80 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) eased 0.42 percent.

The Information Technology Index shed 1.13 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) plunging 5.27 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index gathered 0.53 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) down 0.60 percent.

In economic news, data from China's National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed industrial production to have increased 10.4 percent year-on-year in August compared with forecast of 9.9 percent growth. This was the strongest growth recorded in 17 months. In July, output grew 9.7 percent.

Meanwhile, China retail sales were up 13.4 percent annually in August, better than the 13.3 percent increase expected by economists. This followed the 13.2 percent rise in the previous month.

The statistical office also reported that China's fixed asset investment rose 20.3 percent in the January-August period compared with the same period last year. This was slightly higher than the 20.2 percent increase forecast by economists. For the first seven months of the year, investment showed 20.1 percent growth.