Canadian Stocks Have Climbed Into Positive Territory -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market was under pressure at the start of the new trading week, adding to Friday's sharp losses. However, the market has rebounded from early weakness and has climbed into positive territory. The weakest performers are the gold and mining stocks, as commodity prices continue to struggle. Energy and financial stocks are providing some much needed support.

Markets in Europe are turning in a mixed performance Monday. Eurozone finance ministers are set to hold a meeting in Brussels today, where the new list of reforms submitted by Greece is set to dominate the agenda. However, the prevailing opinion is that they are unlikely to reach a decision on approving the Greek proposals today.

Markets in the United States are in positive territory this morning. Investors are taking an opportunity to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the sell-off seen last Friday, which reflected concerns about the outlook for interest rates. However, buying interest is likely to be relatively subdued, due to a lack of U.S. economic data and ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 3.19 points or 0.02 percent at 14,955.69. The market has rebounded from an early low of 14,867.51.

On Friday, the index closed down 150.61 points or 1.00 percent, at 14,952.50. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,145.28 and a low of 14,910.30.

The Gold Index is the biggest drag on the market this morning, declining by 1.69 percent . Goldcorp (G.TO) is declining by 1.58 percent and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is losing 1.26 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is dropping by 1.31 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is falling by 1.54 percent. Kinross Gold (K.TO) is decreasing by 1.27 percent and IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is lower by 0.78 percent. Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is also down 2.17 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index is also down 1.37 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is falling by 1.73 percent and Catamaran (CCT.TO) is losing 0.82 percent. Extendicare (EXE.TO) is also decreasing by 1.40 percent.

The Capped Materials Index is falling by 0.58 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is falling by 0.99 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is lower by 1.58 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is also declining by 0.63 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is also lower by 0.52 percent. Sherritt International (S.TO) is falling by 2.47 percent and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is lower by 0.98 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is dipping by 0.41 percent and Teck Resources (TCK-A.TO) down 1.14 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is increasing by 0.15 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CM.TO) is down 0.15 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is lower by 0.03 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is falling by 0.38 percent.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is gaining 0.26 percent and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is rising by 0.21 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is higher by 0.19 percent.

The Energy Index is climbing by 0.16 percent. Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is increasing by 0.10 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is gaining 0.28 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is higher by 1.12 percent and Encana (ECA.TO) is up 0.75 percent. Bonterra Energy (BNE.TO) is climbing by 0.71 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is adding 0.33 percent.

NuVista Energy (NVA.TO) is falling by 0.36 percent. The company reported fourth quarter adjusted EPS of C$0.01, compared to the loss of C$0.03 a year ago.

BlackBerry (BB.TO) is sinking by 6.85 percent, after it was downgraded to "Sell" from "Neutral" by Goldman Sachs.

COM DEV International (CDV.TO) is climbing by 7.62 percent. The company reported a first quarter loss of C$0.15, compared to the profit of C$0.03 last year. The company also announced that it is exploring strategic options for its exactEarth unit.

Concordia Healthcare (CRX.TO) is soaring by 19.09 percent, after it agreed to acquire substantially all of the commercial assets of privately held Covis Pharma S.à.r.l and Covis Injectables, S.à.r.l for US$1.2 billion in cash.

Cargojet (CJT.TO) is gaining 2.05 percent. The company reported fourth quarter revenues of $57.1 million, an increase of 17.7 percent from the prior year. Cargojet also declared a cash dividend of $0.1491 per common voting share.

On the economic front, China's trade surplus rose to a record high in February as exports surged due to the effect of the timing of the Lunar New Year, figures from the customs office showed Sunday. The trade surplus came in at $60.6 billion in February, much more than the $6 billion expected by economists.

Japan's gross domestic product expanded just 1.5 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2014, the Cabinet Office said in Monday's revised reading. That was well shy of forecasts for 2.2 percent, which would have been unchanged from the February 15 preliminary reading.

Eurozone investor confidence reached its highest level since August 2007, survey data from the think tank Sentix showed Monday. The investor confidence index for March rose to 18.6 from 12.4 in February. This was the highest score since August 2007.

Germany's exports declined at the fastest pace since August although a weaker euro is likely to boost shipments in months ahead. Exports dropped by a worse-than-expected 2.1 percent month-on-month in January, reversing December's revised 2.8 percent increase, data from Destatis revealed Monday. It was severe than a 1.5 percent fall forecast by economists.

In commodities, crude oil futures for April delivery are up $0.28 or 0.56 percent at $49.89 a barrel.

Natural gas for April is down $0.128 or 4.51 percent at $2.711 per million btu.

Gold futures for April are up $6.10 or 0.52 percent at $1,170.40 an ounce.

Silver for May is down $0.012 or 0.08 percent at $15.795 an ounce.