TSX Ends Higher On Global Cues -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher on Wednesday, tracking rising global equity markets, as firm commodity prices helped push gold and oil shares up.

Wall Street's positive reaction to U.S. aluminum major Alcoa's better than expected results aided sentiment. Nonetheless, concerns over the conflict in Ukraine weighed on sentiment to some extent, with investors hoping for more stimulus from China.

Asian markets ended higher, although Japan bucked the trend due to a stronger yen. Major European markets ended modestly higher amid mixed economic data. While the U.K.'s trade deficit narrowed in February, Germany said its trade surplus declined due to a more-than-expected declined in exports in February.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 14,435.58, up 63.13 points or 0.44 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,444.56 and a low of 14,372.43.

On Tuesday, the benchmark ended up 102.12 points at 14,372.45, riding on the strength of energy stocks and on bargain hunting after recent steep losses.

Crude oil ended sharply higher despite an official report from the Energy Information Administration that showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. to have jumped more than expected last week. Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed U.S. oil inventories to have risen 7.1 million barrels during the week ended April 4.

The Energy Index gained 0.57 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for May delivery, jumping $1.04 or 1.0 percent to close at $103.60 a barrel Wednesday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) shed 0.58 percent, while Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) slipped 1.33 percent. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ.TO) gained 0.82 percent, while Surge Energy Inc. (SGY.TO) jumped 3.31 percent. Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) moved up 0.10 percent.

The Global Gold Index inched up 0.04 percent, with gold futures for June delivery, dropping $3.20 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,305.90 an ounce Wednesday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) added 0.87 percent, while Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) moved up 0.29 percent. Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) gained 1.05 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) advanced 1.13 percent.

The Capped Materials Index moved up 0.23 percent, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) up 0.27 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index gained 0.32 percent with the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) up 0.27 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) up 0.21 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) up 0.36 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) added 0.64 percent.

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) edged up 0.05 percent. The bank on Tuesday revealed the appointment of Thomas O'Neill as non-executive chairman of its board of directors, succeeding John Mayberry.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index added 0.89 percent, with Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) down 1.29 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) up 2.33 percent, and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) down 0.45 percent.

The Information Technology Index jumped 2.19 percent, even as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) slipped 0.46 percent.

Technology stocks were helped by Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO), up 4.44 percent, CGI Group Inc. (GIB.A.TO) up 3.60 percent, Open Text Corporation (OTC.TO) up 1.94 percent, and Davis + Henderson Corp. (DH.TO) up 1.30 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index edged up 0.04 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) dropping 1.46 percent.

In corporate news, Dollarama, Inc. (DOL.TO) jumped 8.38 percent after reporting net earnings of C$83.0 million or C$1.17 per share for the fourth quarter, up from C$77.1 million or C$1.04 per share last year.

Cargojet Inc. (CJT.TO) surged 6.83 percent after the company indicated plans to sell C$67 million of convertible debentures at C$1,000 each.

Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) added 2.0 percent after Royal Bank of Canada upgraded the stock's rating to 'outperformer'.

Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (KGI.TO) ended flat at $3.54 a share, after announcing that it expects to produce and sell between 140,000 ounces and 155,000 ounces of gold in fiscal year 2015, below its earlier forecast for a production of 160,000 ounces.

Cascades Inc. (CAS.TO) dropped 1.10 percent after indicating it will close Swedish Cascades Djupafors subsidiary due to weak market conditions.

In economic news, wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose less than expected in February, a Commerce Department release showed Wednesday. Wholesale inventories increased 0.5 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in January. Economists expected inventories to rise by 0.6 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, inventories of non-durable goods edged up just 0.1 percent in February following a 0.8 percent increase in January. A jump in inventories of farm product raw materials was partly offset by a steep drop in inventories of petroleum and petroleum products.

Economic news from Europe showed Germany's exports declined more-than-expected in February, while imports increased for the second consecutive month, official data revealed Wednesday. Exports fell 1.3 percent from January, marking the second drop in three months and the largest since May 2013, Destatis said. Exports were forecast to fall 0.5 percent after expanding 2.2 percent in January.

On the other hand, German imports rose 0.4 percent, faster than the 0.1 percent growth estimated by economists. However, the rate slowed from the 4.1 percent increase seen in January.

Elsewhere, U.K.'s visible trade deficit narrowed in February, largely reflecting a decline in imports of aircraft, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The deficit on trade in goods fell more-than-expected to GBP 9.1 billion in February from GBP 9.5 billion in January. The shortfall was expected to decline to GBP 9.2 billion. The deficit with EU nations widened to GBP 6.2 billion, while that with non-EU countries narrowed to GBP 2.9 billion.

Driven by a sharp decline in aircraft imports, U.K.'s overall imports dropped 2.2 percent month-on-month to GBP 32.6 billion. Imports of aircraft plunged 46.3 percent from January.