TSX Ends Marginally Higher On Global Cues - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended higher Thursday, tracking global equity markets on some mixed economic data out of the U.S., led mostly by mining and energy stocks. Nonetheless, the gains were limited on continued worries over a possible government shutdown in the U.S. and as well over the Federal Reserve possible tapering of its quantitative easing program next month.

The U.S. Senate has since voted unanimously to approve a stopgap funding bill to keep the government from running out of money next week. The vote came after a marathon speech by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his allies in opposition to the President Obama's health care law. Democrats in the Senate are expected to alter the bill to strip the language defunding Obamacare before sending it back to the House. The Republican leadership would then have to decide whether to bring the Senate bill up for a vote or risk a government shutdown.

The U.S. Government will reach its borrowing limit next month and the debt ceiling has to be raised by Congress, which requires a consensus between the White House and the Republican lawmakers. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in a letter to Congress Wednesday warned the extraordinary measures the Treasury is employing to preserve U.S. borrowing capacity would be exhausted no later than October 17.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 12,841.62, up 4.91 points or 0.04 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 12,905.11 and a low of 12,836.71.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index gained 0.75 percent, with Teck Resources Limited (TCK.B.TO) gaining 2.48 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) gathering 0.43 percent. Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK.TO) slipped 3.33 percent.

The Capped Materials Index shed 1.02 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) edging up 0.22 percent.

Gold futures ended lower Wednesday, as the dollar strengthened against a basket of some major currencies on some mixed economic data out of the U.S. with initial jobless benefit claims declining last week.

The Global Gold Index lost 1.90 percent, with gold futures for December delivery shedding $12.10 or 0.9 percent to close at $1,324.10 an ounce Thursday on the Nymex.

Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) shed 3.09 percent, while IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG) dropped 1.97 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) lost 2.26 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) shed 1.34 percent. Kinross Gold Corporation (K.TO) dipped 2.08 percent, while Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) tanked 1.58 percent.

Gold miner Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) slipped 1.09 percent after announcing that the Supreme Court of Chile has issued a ruling that upholds the environmental approval for the Pascua-Lama project in Chile.

U.S. crude oil snapped a five-day loss to end higher Thursday, mostly on some bargain hunting, notwithstanding the brightening supply prospects and easing tensions in the Middle East, including Iran.

The Energy Index moved up 0.50 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for November delivery gaining $0.37 or 0.4 percent to close at $103.03 a barrel Thursday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) gained 0.56 percent, Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM.TO) gathered 0.43 percent, and Suncor Energy Inc.(SU.TO) added 0.65 percent. Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO) gained 0.09 percent, while Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) rose 1.47 percent.

Husky Energy (HSE.TO) jumped 4.13 percent after providing operations update noting that it is progressing its Atlantic Region growth pillar with a focus on several recent exploration discoveries and advancement of near-field development projects.

The Financial Index added 0.17 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) down 0.10 percent and Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC.TO) up 0.70 percent. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 0.13 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) gathered 0.17 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) moved up 0.12 percent, while National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) gained 0.89 percent.

The Information Technology Index shed 0.43 percent, with smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) dropping 0.73 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index gathered 0.39 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) down 0.42 percent.

In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 305,000 in the week ended September 21, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 310,000. The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected jobless claims to climb to 325,000 from the 309,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Separately, the Commerce Department noted that US GDP increased by 2.5 percent in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous estimate. Economists had expected the pace of growth to be upwardly revised to 2.6 percent. The pace of GDP growth in the second quarter still represents a notable acceleration from the 1.1 percent growth reported for the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index eased 1.6 percent to 107.7 in August from a downwardly revised 109.4 in July. Economists had been expecting the index to decrease by about 1.0 percent.

Elsewhere, eurozone broad money supply growth accelerated in August, while loans to private sector declined further, the European Central Bank said. The broad monetary aggregate M3 grew 2.3 percent from a year ago, in line with forecast, after rising 2.2 percent in July.

Confidence among French consumers improved for a third consecutive month to reach a seven-month high in September, the latest figures from the statistical office Insee showed. The headline consumer confidence index rose to 85 in September from 84 in August. The outcome was in line with expectations. The reading was the highest since February, when the index scored 86.