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

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks snapped a three-day gain to end lower on Thursday, as concerns over the impasse in the Greek debt deal negotiations weighed on the market, as well as weakness in commodity prices. Energy, mining and gold stocks are among the weakest performers this morning.

Most markets in Europe ended in the red on Thursday, after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers ended without any conclusion on Wednesday. European Union leaders are set to meet again later in the day to discuss a cash-for-reform deal.

Markets in the United States also ended in the red, notwithstanding some better than expected economic data, due to concerns over Greece.

In some positive economic news from the U.S., personal spending for May logged a bigger than expected increase, while personal income showed continued growth. However, weekly jobless claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. increased but less than anticipated.

After Greece's latest proposals were rejected, creditors offered a counter-proposal and were insistent Athens accept it.

Nevertheless, Greece and its international creditors have been holding a number of meetings in an attempt to break the deadlock. However, differences continue to crop up and hampered any real progress towards an agreement. Nevertheless, any deal would still require approval of the Greek and German parliaments, even as reports suggest negotiations could go on until Sunday.

The disagreement remains mainly on the debt relief sought by Athens, a demand that is likely to face stiff opposition within the Eurogroup. Despite disagreements, some Greek and EU officials reportedly said differences have narrowed and a deal is still possible.

Earlier in the day, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras met the chiefs of the country's creditors - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, at the commission's headquarters in Brussels.

Greece is burdened with a Eur 1.5 billion payment to the IMF at the end of June. The country has indicated that it will not be able to make the payment without further aid. The country needs to clinch a deal as soon as possible that could unlock Eur 7.2 billion aid as soon as next week.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 14,897.50, down 50.01 points or 0.33 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,957.24 and a low of 14,861.68.

On Wednesday, the index closed up 42.60 points or 0.29 percent, at 14,947.51. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,955.33 and a low of 14,871.88.

Crude oil futures ended lower as investors weighed demand growth prospects for oil with focus on developments in the Greece debt deal.

The weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil inventories dropped 4.9 million barrels in the week ended June 19, while analysts expected stocks to decline 2.3 million barrels.

The Energy Index dropped 1.72 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for August delivery shedding $0.57 or 1.0 percent, to settle at $59.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) dropped 3.19 percent, while Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) fell 1.28 percent and Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) shed 3.39 percent

Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) dropped 1.09 percent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) fell $0.38 a share.

Gold futures ended lower as uncertainties over Greece's continued to roil markets, with no signs of any deal before the deadline of June 30. However, negotiations between the two sides continued with creditors insisting Athens accept their counter-proposal towards a deal.

The Gold Index dropped 1.35 percent, with gold for August delivery shedding $1.10 or 0.1 percent, to settle at $1,171.80 an ounce in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among gold stocks, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) dropped 1.73 percent, Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 1.45 percent, and Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) surrendered 1.39 percent. IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) shed 0.72 percent, while Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) shed 3.49 percent.

The Capped Materials Index slipped 0.26 percent, as Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) added 2.26 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) fell 1.88 percent. Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV.TO) shed 1.07 percent, while Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) jumped 4.24 percent. Silver Wheaton Crop. (SLW.TO) dropped 1.35 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index plunged 3.72 percent, even as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) plummeted 4.74 percent, and Teck Resources (TCK.B.TO) plunged 5.68 percent. HudBay Minerals Inc. (HBM.TO) dived 4.39 percent, while Capstone Mining Corp. (CS.TO) dropped 3.20 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index inched up 0.04 percent, as Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) edged up 0.04 percent, National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) moved up 0.21 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) gathered 0.61 percent.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.15 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) added 0.27 percent, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) dived 1.39 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index added 0.38 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) gained 1.35 percent, Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) moved up 0.53 percent, Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) fell 0.72 percent, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) gained 2.78 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index dropped 0.89 percent, as Bombardier Inc. (BBD-A.TO) gained 0.41 percent and Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) fell 0.21 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) shed 0.87 percent, while Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) dipped 1.74 percent.

The Information Technology Index edged down 0.76 percent, as BlackBerry Inc. (BB.TO) added 2.92 percent, after announcing it will repurchase for cancellation up to 12 million BlackBerry common shares.

Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SW.TO) dropped 1.71 percent, while Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) shed 1.03 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index edged gained 0.49 percent, as TELUS Corp. (T.TO) gained 1.35 percent, BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gathered 0.85 percent, and Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO) moved up 0.54 percent.

Rogers Communication (RCI-A.TO) gained 0.23 percent, after announcing its intention to exercise its option to acquire Shaw's spectrum licenses for advanced wireless service in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario.

Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR-B.TO) climbed 0.69 percent after reporting third quarter earnings of C$0.42 per share, compared to C$47 per share in the prior year.

Clairvest Group Inc. (CVG.TO) gained 1.84 percent after reporting a fourth-quarter profit of $1.25 per share.

Asanko Gold Inc. (AKG.TO) fell 2.64 percent, after an accident at its project in Ghana, which resulted in the death of a contractor engaged in mining activities.

On the economic front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged slightly higher in the week ended June 20, a report from the Labor Department showed Thursday. Initial jobless claims inched up to 271,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 268,000. Economists expected jobless claims to rise to 273,000 from the 267,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Personal spending in the U.S. rose by more than expected in the month of May, the Commerce Department revealed in a report on Thursday, with spending witnessed the strongest growth in nearly six years.

The Commerce Department said personal spending jumped by 0.9 percent in May following a revised 0.1 percent uptick in April. Spending had been expected to increase by 0.7 percent after originally being reported as nearly flat in the previous month.

The sharp increase in spending came amid continued growth in personal income, which rose by 0.5 percent in May, matching the upwardly revised increase seen in April. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.4 percent, which would have matched the growth originally reported for the previous month.

German consumer confidence is set to fall in July as unresolved debt crisis in Greece weigh on the economic outlook. Nonetheless, it remains at an elevated level as income expectations reached a new post-reunification record. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index dropped to 10.1 in July from 10.2 in June, survey data from market research group GfK showed Thursday. The score was expected to remain at 10.2.

The leading index for France, which measures the future economic activity, inched up in April, helped by large positive contributions from building permits and stock prices, survey results from the Conference Board showed Thursday. The Conference Board leading economic index edged up 0.1 percent in April, following a revised 0.4 percent increase in March. Out of the seven components, five contributed positively to the index in April.

British retailers said their sales growth slowed in June but it is expected to improve next month, the latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed Thursday. About 44 percent of retailers said sales volumes increased from a year ago, while 15 percent said they were down, giving a balance of +29 percent for June. It was expected to drop to 35 percent.