TSX Ends Sharply Higher On Upbeat Data -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks surged to end higher for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, led by natural resource stocks on higher commodity prices and fairly impressive economic data from the U.S. and China aiding sentiment.

Expectations that the European Central Bank will announce further stimulus to revive the eurozone economy and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may delay ending its asset buying program, also contributed to the uptick.

Some upbeat U.S. corporate earnings reports and strong numbers from Canadian Pacific Railway are also supported the main index.

Almost all major sub-indices ended in the positive territory, led by energy, financial, mining, and healthcare sectors, although the gold slipped.

In some positive economic news, existing home sales in the U.S. increased more than expected in September, with sales bouncing back to their highest level in a year, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.

Industrial production in China was up 8 percent in September, beating expectations.

Meanwhile, China's gross domestic product rose more than expected in the third quarter, albeit lower than the second quarter growth. It was the weakest expansion of the Chinese economy early 2009 with slowdown in investment, particularly in the property sector.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 14,547.71, up 209.94 points or 1.46 percent. The index scaled a intraday high of 14,564.06 and a low of 14,364.57.

On Monday, the index closed higher at 14,337.77, for a third successive session.

Crude oil ended higher ahead of the weekly U.S. inventory data amid continued worries over excess supply globally, even as lingering concerns over the health of the global economy remained.

The Energy Index surged 2.12 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for December delivery gaining $0.58 or 0.7 percent to close at $82.49 a barrel on the Nymex Tuesday.

Among energy stocks, Niko Resources Ltd. (NKO.TO) soared 21.21 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) added 2.17 percent, Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) moved up 1.40 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) gained 2.66 percent, and Athabasca Oil Corporation (ATH.TO) jumped 4.77 percent.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) gained 1.99 percent, Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) added 1.28 percent, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) jumped 6.88 percent, and Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) moved up 1.42 percent.

The Healthcare index jumped 2.66 percent, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRX.TO) up 4.07 percent, after having reported a sharp climb in third-quarter profit yesterday.

Catamaran Corporation (CCT.TO) added 2.88 percent, while Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) moved up 1.00 percent.

Gold futures ended higher as investors continued to lean on the safe haven of the precious metal on lingering concerns over the health of the global economy.

The Global Gold Index shed 0.92 percent, although gold for December delivery added 7.00 or 0.6 percent to settle at $1,251.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) shed 1.81 percent, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) dipped 0.16 percent, and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) dropped 1.12 percent.

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) shed 0.91 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) fell 0.95 percent.

The Capped Materials Index moved up 0.44 percent, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) gaining 0.71 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index gained 1.24 percent, with Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gaining 1.08 percent, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) added 0.72 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) added 0.95 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) gathered 0.62 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 1.12 percent, and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) climbed 1.52 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index climbed 2.98 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) jumped 5.60 percent, Lundin Mining Corporation (LUN.TO) added 2.38 percent, and Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) moving up 3.14 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index added 1.80 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) down 0.82 percent, and Air Canada (AC.B.TO) up 6.65 percent.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) gained 1.32 percent after reporting a third-quarter profit of C$400 million or C$2.31 per share, up from C$324 million or C$1.84 per share, a year before.

The Information Technology Index jumped 1.40 percent, with smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) dropping 2.15 percent. CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO) gained 1.65 percent and Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) up 2.48 percent.

The Telecom Index added 1.18 percent with Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) gaining 0.78 percent, BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) up 0.75 percent, and TELUS Corp. (T.TO) up 2.14 percent.

The Consumer Staples Index gained 0.57 percent, with Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) down 0.42 percent and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI.TO) also down 0.42 percent.

Brookfield Canada Office Properties (BOX.UN.TO) gained 0.67 percent after reporting third-quarter funds from operations of C$38 million or C$0.41 per unit, compared with C$33 million or C$0.36 per unit last year.

In economic news, data from the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales in the U.S. to have increased by a more than expected 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.17 million in September, after falling 1.8 percent in the preceding month. Economists expected existing home sales to rise to a rate of 5.10 million.

China's gross domestic product expanded 7.3 percent on year in the third quarter, topping forecast for a 7.2 percent increase. However, this was the weakest growth since the first quarter of 2009.

China's industrial production was up 8 percent in September, up from 6.9 percent in the preceding month, beating expectations for 7.5 percent increase.

Eurozone 2013 budget deficit was lower than previous estimates, data based on European System of Accounts 2010 methodology indicated. The budget deficit came in at 2.9 percent of GDP in 2013 instead of 3 percent calculated under ESA95 methodology, Eurostat reported Tuesday. The deficit for 2012 was revised to 3.6 percent from 3.7 percent.