TSX Ends A Shade Higher; Gains 3.3% For Week -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended a tad higher for a third straight session on Friday, after trading in a narrow band intraday, adding to yesterday's gains on a surprise rate cut by the Bank of Canada earlier in the week and the larger than expected stimulus package announced by the European Central Bank yesterday.

For the week, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 3.3%, after settling lower in the two prior weeks.

Markets in Europe and Asia ended in positive territory for the week end, but U.S. markets ended lower, struggling to find direction. Corporate earnings reports have had a negative impact on the U.S. markets, especially the profit warning from United Parcel Services.

Statistics Canada reported Friday morning that the consumer price index climbed by 1.5 percent in December, compared to the 2.0 percent in November. This was in line with expectations of economists.

There was modest reaction to the European Central Bank's massive stimulus plan, and relatively lackluster reading on Chinese manufacturing did little to alleviate concerns of global economic growth.

The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, a closely watched gauge of the country's factory sector, rose to 49.8 in January, compared with a final reading of 49.6 in December, HSBC Holdings PLC said Friday.

A flash reading of the Markit's U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index for January showed a drop to 53.7 from 53.9 in December, the lowest reading in 12 months.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Fed's national activity index in December showed a negative 0.05 from a positive 0.92 in November, suggesting the U.S. economy grew at a below-trend rate in December. The index is a weighted average of 85 different economic indicators.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday at 14,779.35, up 15.37 points or 0.10 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,853.30 and a low of 14,741.63.

On Thursday, the index closed sharply higher by 203.56 points or 1.40 percent, at 14,763.98, riding on Bank of Canada's unexpected interest rate cut and the European Central Bank's announcement of a massive monetary stimulus package.

Crude oil tumbled to end lower on a sharply strengthening dollar amid continued oversupply concerns after a weekly official oil report from the Energy Information Administration yesterday showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. to have surged to an 80-year high.

The Energy Index gained 1.25 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for March delivery, shedding $0.72 or 1.6 percent, to settle at $45.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Among energy stocks, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) added 0.53 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) moved up 0.54 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 0.36 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) added 0.78 percent, and Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) advanced 2.85 percent.

Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) gained 0.42 percent, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) jumped 4.67 percent and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) fell 0.29 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index plunged 4.52 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) plummeted 10.46 percent, and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) slipped 0.86 percent.

Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) surrendered 3.07 percent, Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) gained 2.38 percent, and HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) fell 5.59 percent.

Gold futures ended modestly lower on some mixed global economic data with the dollar trending sharply higher even as the euro slipped significantly after the European Central Bank announced a massive, larger than expected monetary stimulus yesterday.

The Global Gold Index dropped 2.42 percent, with gold for February delivery dropping $8.10 or 0.6 percent, to settle at $1,292.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Among other gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) shed 3.41 percent, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) dived 6.29 percent, and Barrick Gold Corp .(ABX.TO) fell2.77 percent.

Goldcorp (G.TO) shed 1.03 percent, B2Gold (BTO.TO) dropped 4.18 percent, Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) plunged 10.00 percent, and Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) surrendered 1.51 percent.

IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) plummeted 9.33 percent, amid the announcement of its preliminary operating results.

The Capped Materials Index dived 2.52 percent, mostly on rising gold stocks, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) sliding 0.89 percent and Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) fell 2.25 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index moved up 0.76 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gathered 1.74 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gained 1.12 percent, and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) added 0.06 percent.

Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) advanced 0.50 percent, while the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) edged down 0.01 percent.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) gained 0.95 percent. The bank had agreed to acquire City National Corp. for $93.80 per share, aggregating an approximate $5.4 billion yesterday.

The Capped Industrials Index fell 0.99 percent, as Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) advanced 1.08 percent, Air Canada (AC.TO) added 0.84 percent, and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) shed 3.34 percent.

The Information Technology Index gathered 1.10 percent, as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) gained 1.76 percent, Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) dropped 0.56 percent and Constellation Software (CSU.TO) added 2.96 percent.

The Healthcare Index advanced 2.39 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) added 0.43 percent and Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) gained 0.48 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index dropped 0.06 percent, as Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) fell 0.57 percent, Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) was up 0.56 percent, and TELUS Corp. (T.TO) slipped 0.07 percent.

Starcore International Mines (SAM.TO) is climbing by 8.33 percent. The company has agreed to purchase all shares of Creston Moly from Deloitte Restructuring.

Atlantic Power (ATP.TO) gained 1.49 percent, after the company named James Moore Jr. as its new President and CEO.

On the economic front, existing home sales in the U.S. rose roughly in line with economist estimates in December, with sales rebounding from the steep drop seen in November, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed Friday.

NAR said existing home sales rose 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in December after tumbling 6.3 percent to a downwardly revised 4.92 million in November. Economists expected sales to climb to an annual rate of 5.05 million from the 4.93 million originally reported for the previous month.

Reflecting positive contributions from a majority of components, a Conference Board report on Friday showed its index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose slightly more than anticipated in December.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.5 percent in December following a downwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in November. Economists expected the index to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.6 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

Eurozone private sector grew at the fastest pace in five months in January, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The composite output index rose more-than-expected to a five-month high of 52.2 in January from 51.4 in December. Economists had forecast the index to rise nominally to 51.7.

Germany's private sector in January remained in expansion territory, signaling a further rise in private sector output. The flash composite output index rose to 52.6 in January from 52 in December. This was the strongest growth in three months.

The French private sector contracted further at the start of 2015, flash data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The composite output index dropped to 49.5 in January from 49.7 in December.

French business confidence remained stable in January, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. The business confidence index for manufacturers held steady at 99 in January as expected by economists.

British retail sales logged an unexpected growth in December, driven by food sales, while economists anticipated a decline after a rebound in November on Black Friday sales.

The volume of retail sales, including automotive fuel, increased 0.4 percent month-over-month in December, but the growth was slower than the 1.6 percent rise in November, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Sales were expected to decline 0.6 percent.

China's manufacturing sector barely contracted in January, with a PMI score of 49.8, a survey from HSBC Bank showed on Friday. That beat the forecast of 49.5 and was up from 49.6 in December, although it remained below the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.