TSX Inches Lower, Led By Valeant -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks edged slightly lower in a quiet session on Bay Street Thursday, as weakness emerged in the heavily-weighted energy and financial sectors.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 46.36 points, or 0.33 percent, to 13,828.97.

The Energy Index trimmed recent gains by 0.60 percent, as crude oil prices slipped to 2-week lows on data showing a larger-than-expected build in U.S. crude invetories.

Nov. oil fell 26 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $46.38/bbl on Nymex, having dropped sharply since last week's highs above $50.

Gold stocks fell, trimming recent gains even as gold prices touched fresh 4-month highs.

Health care stocks were the worst performers, led lower by Valeant (VRX.TO).

Valeant shares dropped 5.4 percent after the company acknowledged that it received subpoenas from US federal prosecutors seeking information related to how it prices drugs.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) was up fractionally. The company announced that it is eliminating the fees for Canadians to send money overseas.

In economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended October 10th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with claims matching their lowest level in over forty years.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 255,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 262,000. The drop surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to climb to 270,000 from the 263,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Consumer prices in the U.S. fell in line with estimates in the month of September, the Labor Department revealed in a report on Thursday, although the report also showed that core prices rose slightly more than expected.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index slipped by 0.2 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. Economists had expected prices to dip by 0.2 percent.