TSX Ends Lower On Mixed Cues - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks snapped a four-day gain to end marginally lower Tuesday, driven mainly by financial and industrial stocks that offset gains in mining, amid speculation China will announce measures to boost its sagging economy. Investors were not impressed with the earnings of Canadian National Railways which further dragged down the main index.

Meanwhile the Japanese government's upgradation of its assessment of the economy, instilled some confidence among investors. Yesterday, Canadian stocks ended at a seven-week high for a fourth straight session, on higher commodity prices led by gold and material indices.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 12,745.38, down 13.00 points or 0.10 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,772.06 and a low of 12,710.41.

The Global Gold Index gained 2.28 percent, although gold futures for August delivery dropped $1.30 or 0.1 percent to close at $1,334.70 an ounce Tuesday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) gained 0.34 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) moved up 2.40 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) added 2.36 percent, while Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) moved up 0.87 percent.

The Capped Materials Index added 1.45 percent, although Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) slipped 1.51 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index jumped 3.73 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) surging 6.56 percent and Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) adding 1.67 percent. Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) jumped 5.96 percent, while Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) gained 0.45 percent.

The Energy Index slipped 0.05 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery adding $0.29 or 0.3 percent to close at $107.23 a barrel Tuesday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 0.42 percent, while Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) slipped 0.21 percent. Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) added 1.75 percent, while Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) gained 0.55 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) shed 0.29 percent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) shed 0.71 percent.

The Financial Index surrendered 0.44 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) up 0.06 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) dropped 0.91 percent, and Toronto-Dominion Bank slipped 0.19 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) declined 1.03 percent.

The Information Technology Index gained 0.20 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) shedding 1.17 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index shed 1.13 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) ending flat at $5.07.

West Africa focused gold miner Teranga Gold Corp. (TGZ.TO) added 6.15 percent after agreeing to acquire Oromin Explorations (OLE.TO) in the exchange ratio to 0.60, up from the earlier agreed 0.582, of a common share of Teranga for each Oromin share. Shares of Oromin jumped 23.33 percent to C$0.37.

Telecommunications company Telus Corp. (T.TO) gathered 0.59 percent after announcing it would double its spend on share buybacks up to $1 billion by the end of 2013.

Transportation and logistics company Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) lost 3.21 percent despite reporting improved second-quarter net income of C$717 million or C$1.69 per share compared with C$631 million or C$1.44 per share last year. Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were C$1.66 per share, beating consensus estimates of C$1.62 per share for the quarter.

In economic news Statistics Canada said retail sales recorded its largest rate of growth in over three years in the month of May, rising 1.9 percent to $40.4 billion This followed relatively flat sales the previous two months. The gains were widespread as higher sales were reported in 9 of 11 sub-sectors, representing 94 percent of total retail trade.

In economic news from the eurozone, consumer confidence in July improved for the eighth consecutive month to its highest level since mid-2011, preliminary data from the European Commission showed Tuesday. The flash consumer confidence indicator climbed to -17.4 from -18.8 in June. Economists had forecast a score of -18.3. The reading is the highest since July 2011, when it was -11.

Spanish recession slowed in the second quarter of 2013, mostly on the improvement in external sector. Gross domestic product declined 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June, slower than a 0.5 percent fall seen in the first quarter, preliminary estimates from the Bank of Spain showed on Tuesday. On an annual basis, the economy contracted 1.8 percent in the June quarter, following a 2 percent decline a quarter ago.

U.K. exports hit the highest since the recession in the second quarter, boosting hopes of strong recovery, a survey carried out by British Chambers of Commerce and logistics firm DHL showed. The export index that measures the volume of export documents issued to businesses gained 2.85 percent from the first quarter. It was 2.94 percent higher than in the same period of previous year. The activity was the highest since 2007.