TSX Ends A Tad Higher On Upbeat Data -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks rebounded to end a tad higher on Friday, tracking some upbeat economic data out of the U.S. and eurozone, even as Canadian unemployment increased in November, albeit in line with estimates.

While a report from the U.S. Labor Department showed a larger than expected addition of jobs in November, data from Germany showed a notable increase in factory orders in October.

However, weak commodity prices and speculation that U.S. interest rate hike may come sooner than earlier thought, weighed on the market.

Investors also digested a report from Statistics Canada showing Canadian unemployment to have come in at 6.6 percent in November, up from a six-year low of 6.5 percent in the preceding month. However, that was in line with economists' forecasts.

Employment in Canada dropped 10,700 in November, due mainly to decline in retail positions, reflecting a soft recovery for the economy with plunging oil prices impacting the country's major export.

Meanwhile, Canadian trade surplus narrowed for a third straight month in October as export growth slowed, according to Statistics Canada.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday at 14,473.70, up 3.75 points or 0.03 percent. The index scaled a intraday high of 14,542.02 and a low of 14,435.04.

On Thursday, the main index plunged to end sharply lower after the European Central Bank failed to announce any additional stimulus measures this year while leaving key interest rates unchanged.

Crude oil ended lower extending its fall in the previous session after Saudi Arabia slashed prices for its U.S. and Asian customers. Oil prices firmed on news of some solid U.S. jobs data for November, but surrendered much of the gains as the dollar rallied to reach multi-year highs on the news.

The Energy Index dipped 0.10 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for January delivery dropping $0.97 or 1.5 percent to close at $65.84 a barrel on the Nymex Friday.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) gained 2.09 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) shed 2.60 percent, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) jumped 8.54 percent, and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) shed 3.40 percent.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) fell 0.39 percent,, Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) dipped 2.98 percent, Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) shed 1.06 percent, and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) slipped 0.19 percent.

Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) surrendered 2.63 percent.

Gold futures ended sharply lower after some strong jobs data from the U.S., with the data pushing the dollar higher against some select major currencies.

The Global Gold Index shed 2.15 percent, with gold for February delivery dipping $1.00 or 0.1 percent to settle at $1,207.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

In the gold space, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) shed 2.72 percent, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) fell 1.78 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) dropped 1.89 percent, Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) declined 2.78 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) surrendered 1.32 percent.

The Capped Materials Index dipped 0.04 percent, mostly on declining gold stocks, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) adding 1.81 percent.

The Financial Index shed 0.09 percent, with Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) down 2.04 percent after reporting fourth-quarter net income of C$1.34 billion, down from C$1.57 billion last year. Earnings per share were C$1.10, compared with C$1.29 in the same period a year ago.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) dropped 1.39 percent, after posting fourth-quarter net income of C$330 million, up 3 percent from C$320 million in the same quarter last year.

Among other major banks, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) fell 1.15 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) inched up 0.06 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) dropped 0.29 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BOM.TO) inched up 0.07 percent.

The Healthcare Index gained 0.55 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) added 0.87 percent and Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) gained 1.54 percent. Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) slipped 1.24 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index jumped 1.24 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) added 2.99 percent, Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) fell 0.66 percent, and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) added 2.79 percent. Sherritt International Corp. (S.TO) dropped 1.20 percent.

Meanwhile, Major Drilling Group International Inc. (MDI.TO) declined 4.06 percent, after reporting second-quarter net loss of C$10 million or C$0.13 per share compared with a loss of C$19 million or C$0.24 per share last year.

The Capped Industrials Index inched up 0.02 percent, as Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) added 1.45 percent.

The Information Technology Index jumped 2.45 percent with BlackBerry Ltd. (BB.TO) up 2.77 percent and Avigilon Corp. (AVO.TO) up 0.72 percent.

Technology stock Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) added 0.58 percent, despite having reported third-quarter net income of $4.2 million or $0.05 a share, up from $2.2 million or $0.03 a share.

The Capped Telecommunication Index gained 0.04 percent, as BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) added 0.37 percent, Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) inched up 0.04 percent, and TELUS Corp. (T.TO) dropped 0.22 percent.

The Consumer Discretionary Index added 0.61 percent with Tim Hortons Inc. (THI.TO) gaining 1.66 percent. Tim Hortons and Burger King Worldwide Inc. (BKW) confirmed that the proposed transaction to create a new global quick service restaurant has been approved by the Minister of Industry under the Investment Canada Act.

Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR.B.TO), Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (CTC.A.TO), Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO), Linamar Corporation (LNR.TO) and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC.TO) are up 1 to 2 percent, while Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL.TO) is moving up over 4 percent.

The Information Technology Index is up 1.75 percent. CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO), Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO), Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) Sandvine Corporation (SVC.TO) and BlackBerry (BB.TO) are up 1 to 2 percent, while Open Text Corporation (OTC.TO) and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) are moving up 2.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

In economic news from the U.S., the economy added 321,000 jobs in November, the biggest addition in nearly three years, beating forecast for an increase of 230,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent for the month, in line with expectations.

The report also said average hourly employee earnings climbed by 9 cents to $24.66 in November, with two soft reading previously. Nevertheless, the 12-month growth just about inched up to 2.1 percent from 2.0 percent.

Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, reacting to the strong jobs data said the Federal Reserve will not overreact to November's blockbuster job report. "As the economy continues to improve, as we've seen, then I would think we would be raising rates sometime in 2015," Mester observed.

Data released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. trade deficit to have narrowed less than expected to $43.4 billion in October from $43.6 billion in September.

In economic news from eurozone, German factory orders were up by a seasonally adjusted 2.5 percent in October. following a 1.1 percent gain in September.

In economic news from eurozone, a report from Eurostat said the euro area GDP grew 0.2 percent sequentially in the third quarter following a 0.1 percent rise in the prior quarter.

Growth in global emerging markets slowed further in November, a survey from Markit Economics showed Friday. The HSBC Emerging Markets Index fell to 51.2 in November from 51.5 in October. However, the EMI remained well below its long-run trend level of 53.7 and 2014 looks set to record the lowest annual average for the index since its inception in November 2005.