TSX Ends Lower On Greece, Commodity Prices -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower for a second straight session Wednesday on concerns over Greece's financial crisis, with weakness in energy and commodity prices contributing to the decline. Gold and financial stocks were among the worst performing stocks.

Concerns over Greece's financial health continued to be in focus, with little or no progress toward an agreement on the required economic reforms for the urgent financial aid from the European Union. However, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure ruled out a Greek exit from the eurozone.

In an interview to the Greek daily Kathimerini, text of which was published on the ECB website, Coeure said, "It is out of the question to speculate about such a scenario. The euro area needs Greece just as Greece needs the euro."

Meanwhile, Greece's Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas earlier today indicated the state coffers to be 350-400 million euros short, with the government needing extra funds urgently to make wage and pension payments at the end of April.

Authorities in France announced that an "imminent" terror attack on one or more churches was thwarted after the arrest of an Islamic extremist with an arsenal of weapons. The man called for an ambulance after he accidentally shot himself in the leg.

European markets are turned in a mixed performance, on some disappointing corporate earnings results and concerns over Greece are weighing on investor sentiment.

Markets in the United States ended on a positive note after an upbeat home sales data, notwithstanding some disappointing earnings news from companies such as Yahoo! and McDonald's.

Existing home sales in the U.S. increased much more than expected in March, jumping to its highest rate in 18 months, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 15,304.77, down 41.67 points or 0.27 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,341.92 and a low of 15,215.87.

On Tuesday, the index closed down 66.16 points or 0.43 percent, at 15,346.44, on concerns over Greece's financial health with no indication of any agreement with Athens on the economic reforms demanded by the European Union to unlock the bailout aid. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,434.06 and a low of 15,300.19.

Gold futures ended at its lowest in April, with investors opting for the riskier equity assets after some upbeat economic data from the U.S. with existing home sales.

The Gold Index plunged 3.74 percent, with gold for June delivery dropping $16.20 or 1.4 percent to settle at $1,186.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Among gold stocks, IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) shed 4.80 percent, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) fell 5.30 percent, Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) surrendered 2.09 percent, and Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) fell 4.0 percent.

Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) shed 3.19 percent, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) surrendered 4.08 percent, and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) dropped 2.34 percent.

Crude oil prices ended lower after the weekly oil inventory report from the Energy Information Administration showed stockpiles to have increased much more than expected last week. However, oil futures pared some of the losses as gasoline stockpiles declined more than expected with domestic output also dropping further.

A weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose 5.3 million barrels in the week ended April 17, while analysts expected an increase of 2.6 million barrels. U.S. crude oil inventories were at 489.0 million barrels end last week.

Stockpiles have been climbing for the 15th straight week since the week ended January 9.

Gasoline stocks dropped by 2.1 million barrels last week, with analysts anticipating a decline of 1.4 million barrels. Inventories of distillate, including heating fuel, rose 0.4 million barrels, with analysts anticipating an increase of 0.5 million.

Domestic crude production declined by about 18,000 barrels, but output increased a near 13.5 percent from a year ago.

The Energy Index gained 0.17 percent, although U.S. crude oil futures for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.45 or 0.8 percent, to settle at $56.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Among energy stocks, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) slipped 1.96 percent, Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. (LEG.TO) plunged 7.12 percent, Bonterra Energy (BNE.TO) shed 1.32 percent, Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) dropped 0.79 percent, and Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) fell 0.59 percent.

Among gainers, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) added 0.55 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) moved up 0.85 percent, Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) gained 1.86 percent, and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) inched up 0.09 percent.

The Capped Materials Index dropped 2.08 percent, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) shedding 0.15 percent and Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) surrendering 1.02 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index shed 0.36 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) dropped 0.25 percent, Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) fell 0.57 percent, and Capstone Mining Corp. (CS.TO) lost 1.54 percent.

Among gainers, Denison Mines Corp. (DML.TO) surged 9.62 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) added 0.20 percent, and HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM.TO) gained 0.39 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index dropped 0.25 percent, as all major banks posted losses for the day. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) slipped 0.05 percent, while Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) dropped 0.29 percent.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) shed 0.45 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) fell 0.39 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.18 percent, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) declined 1.07 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index dived 1.11 percent, as Extendicare (EXE.TO) fell 0.13 percent, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) surrendered 2.41 percent. Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) shed 0.49 percent, while Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) slipped 0.33 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index added 0.51 percent, as SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC.TO) gained 1.41 percent, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) advanced 2.86 percent, and Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) rose 0.06 percent.

Among losers, Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) plunged 4.51 percent, Air Canada declined 0.50 percent, and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) shed 1.31 percent.

The Information Technology Index dipped 0.40 percent, as BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) dropped 1.46 percent, Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) surrendered 0.45 percent, and Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) fell 1.31 percent. Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SW.TO) added 1.75 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index added 1.05 percent, as Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) gained 2.21 percent, BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gathered 0.28 percent, and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) gained 0.86 percent.

Nobilis Health Corp. (NHC.TO) dipped 0.32 percent, after up-sizing a bought deal private placement offering from $40,005,000 to $65,880,000.

Nuvo Research Inc. (NRI.TO) fell 2.00 percent. The company announced that its Phase 2 trial of WF10 will enroll approximately 146 patients who have a moderate to severe allergy to grass and ragweed pollen.

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE.TO) gained 0.23 percent, after West Face Capital called for a complete replacement and increase of the Company's Board.

Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) shed 1.33 percent, after reporting its second quarter earnings increased to C$0.43 from C$0.36 last year.

On the economic front, existing home sales in the U.S. increased much more than expected in March, a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday, with existing home sales jumping to their highest rate in 18 months. NAR said existing home sales surged 6.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.19 million in March from a revised 4.89 million in February. Economists expected existing home sales to climb to a rate of 5.05 million from the 4.88 million originally reported for the previous month.

Eurozone consumer confidence deteriorated for the first time in five months in April, defying expectations for further strengthening, as the uncertainty on Greece lingers, preliminary data from the European Commission showed Wednesday. The flash consumer confidence index dropped to -4.6 from -3.7 in March, which was the highest score since July 2007. Economists had predicted a higher score of -2.5 for April.

The leading index for Germany, which measures the future economic activity, increased at a stable pace in February, figures from the Conference Board showed Tuesday. The leading economic index climbed 0.4 percent in February, the same rate of rise as in the previous month. It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase.

UK households' finance outlook remained positive for the seventh straight month in April and their financial woes eased to the weakest seen for over six years, underpinned by lower inflation perceptions and improved market conditions, results of a survey by Markit Economics and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Markit Household Finance Index, which measures overall perceptions of financial well being and aims to track consumer behavior, rose to 45.8 in April from 45.5 in the previous month.