Commodities Drag TSX Lower Wednesday Morning - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks were lingering in the red Wednesday morning amid weak commodities as investors continued to monitor the situation in Syria after U.S. President Barrack Obama secured more support for a military intervention in the civil-war torn country.

The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1 percent as widely expected and pointed that uncertain global economic conditions appear to be delaying the anticipated rotation of demand in Canada towards exports and investment. While the housing sector has been slightly stronger than anticipated, household credit growth has continued to slow and mortgage interest rates are higher, pointing to a continued constructive evolution of household imbalances, the bank added.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 17.42 points or 0.14 percent to 12,723.08.

The price of gold slipped below the $1,400-mark Wednesday morning, with the US dollar holding onto its recent gains amid trade balance data. Gold for December shed $22.50 to $1,389.50 an ounce

Among gold plays, Royal Gold (RGL.TO), Goldcorp. (G.TO) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) lost around 2 percent each. Seabridge Gold (SEA.TO) was down nearly 4 percent.

The price of crude oil was moving lower Wednesday morning on profit taking even as traders await more cues on Syria situation. Yesterday, oil settled higher on the back of some upbeat manufacturing activity data out of the U.S. and China, lifting demand growth outlook prospects for oil. The developments over military action against Syria also contributed to the uptick in oil prices.

Crude for October lost $1.19 to $107.35 a barrel.

In the oil patch, Niko Resources (NKO.TO) lost over 8 percent, while Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) down about 0.25 percent each.

Advertising & Marketing Services provider Mood Media Corp. (MM.TO) dived over 30 percent after announcing that it is no longer pursuing discussions regarding a potential sale of the company with third parties or others as part of its strategic process.

Meanwhile, wealth management company Gluskin Sheff + Associates (GS.TO) jumped about 6 percent after reporting that its fourth-quarter net income jumped to C$11.1 million or C$0.38 per share from C$2.3 million or C$0.08 per share in the same quarter last year.

In economic news Statistics Canada said the nation's trade deficit with rest of the world widened to $931 million in July from $460 million in June as merchandise imports grew 0.6 percent in July while exports declined 0.6 percent.

From the U.S., the Commerce Department said the trade deficit widened to $39.1 billion in July compared to a revised $34.5 billion deficit in June. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $39.0 billion from the $34.2 billion originally reported for the previous month.

From the euro zone, activity in the German private sector economy increased for the fourth successive month in August final data from a survey conducted jointly by Markit Economics and BME showed. The seasonally adjusted composite output index, a measure of activity in the manufacturing sector and the service sector, rose to a seven-month high 53.5 in August from 52.1 in July. The preliminary estimates were for a score of 53.4.

Meanwhile, the euro zone private sector expanded at the fastest pace in just over two years, but the rate of growth was slightly weaker than initially estimated in August, final survey data from Markit Economics showed. The composite output index rose to 51.5 in August from 50.5 in July. The final reading was slightly below the flash estimate of 51.7.

A report from Eurostat revealed that retail sales in euro zone increased less than expected in July. Sales rose 0.1 percent in July from a month earlier compared with forecast for a 0.2 percent growth. This followed a 0.7 percent decline in June.