Canadian Stocks Are Climbing On Commodity Strength -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market up in early trade Thursday, as it attempts to rebound from yesterday's pullback. The market is receiving a boost from gold and energy stocks, as commodity prices attempt to bounce back from recent weakness.

Markets in Europe are trading in the red Thursday, as investors take some profits following the recent three-day rally. Weak economic data from both Japan and China also had a negative impact on investor sentiment.

Markets in the United States are turning in a mixed performance this morning. The Nasdaq and the Dow Jones are modestly positive in early trade, but the S&P 500 is slightly lower. U.S. economic data has largely come in weaker than anticipated this morning, with the exception of weekly jobless claims data, which was in line with expectations.

After reporting a bigger than expected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that jobless claims pulled back in line with estimates in the week ended September 6th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 275,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 281,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 275,000 from the 282,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With fuel prices showing another substantial decrease, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. import prices fell more than expected in the month of August. The Labor Department said import prices tumbled by 1.8 percent in August following an unrevised 0.9 percent decrease in July. Economists had expected import prices to drop by 1.6 percent.

Additionally, the report also showed a steep drop in export prices, which slumped by 1.4 percent in August after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in July. Export prices had been expected to edge down by about 0.4 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a modest decrease in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The report said wholesale inventories edged down by 0.1 percent in July following a downwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in June.

The drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected inventories to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.9 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 102.00 points or 0.75 percent at 13,633.85.

On Wednesday, the index closed down 98.82 points or 0.72 percent, at 13,531.85. The index scaled an intraday high of 13,766.65 and a low of 13,516.99.

The Gold Index is rising by 1.92 percent. Gold prices steadied Thursday morning after falling sharply on speculation the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates next week.

Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is gaining 1.69 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is increasing by 2.46 percent. Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is advancing by 1.44 percent and Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is up 2.08 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is climbing by 2.08 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is higher by 1.23 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is also adding 1.66 percent.

Centamin (CEE.TO) is rising by 3.33 percent, after it provided an update to its Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates for the Sukari Gold Mine.

The Capped Materials Index is also up 0.75 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is rising by 0.75 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is gaining 3.71 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is climbing by 3.38 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is higher by 0.46 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is up 1.49 percent. Finning International (FTT.TO) is increasing by 0.37 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) is gaining 2.14 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is rising by 2.35 percent and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is adding 0.92 percent.

Bombardier (BBD-A.TO) is surging by 15.03 percent, adding to its gains of the previous session. The company reportedly rebuffed a Chinese offer to buy up to 100% of its rail business yesterday. The Capped Information Technology Index is gaining 0.66 percent. BlackBerry (BB.TO) is increasing by 1.77 percent and Avigilon (AVO.TO) is rising by 0.90 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is advancing by 1.41 percent.

Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is falling by 0.80 percent. The company reported second quarter EPS of $0.07, compared to $0.05 in the prior year.

The Energy Index is increasing by 0.91 percent. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels last week. Expectations had been for a build of 1 million barrels.

Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is up 1.11 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is adding 1.95 percent. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is higher by 0.89 percent and Encana (ECA.TO) is up 3.14 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is advancing by 0.55 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is climbing by 0.17 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is gaining 3.05 percent and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is rising by 3.89 percent. Sherritt International (S.TO) is increasing by 0.94 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is rising by 0.16 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is increasing by 0.21 percent and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is gaining 0.25 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is up also 0.37 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index is climbing by 0.35 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is gaining 0.82 percent and Extendicare (EXE.TO) is up 0.25 percent. Concordia Healthcare (CXR.TO) is also rising by 0.27 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is advancing by 0.06 percent. TELUS (T.TO) is rising by 0.73 percent and BCE (BCE.TO) is adding 0.07 percent.

Dollarama (DOL.TO) is surging by 5.83 percent, after it posted second quarter EPS of $0.74. The company reported EPS of $0.51 in the prior year period.

Wi-Lan (WIN.TO) is up 0.39 percent, after its Orthopedic Innovations subsidiary entered into a patent license agreement with Smith & Nephew.

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA.TO) is advancing by 0.36 percent after it sold over $42 million in equipment and trucks at its unreserved public auction in Dubai.

Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) is climbing by 3.72 percent. The company has agreed to buy the employee benefits business of Assurant Inc. for $940 million.

Manulife Financial (MFC.TO) is gaining 0.44 percent. The company has entered into a 15-year distribution partnership with Standard Chartered.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported Thursday morning that the Canadian new housing price index rose by 0.1 percent in July. Economists were expecting an increase of 0.2 percent.

Statistics Canada also reported that Canadian capacity utilization fell to 81.3 percent in the second quarter, its lowest level in 2 years. Expectations had been for a decrease to 81.7 percent. The first quarter result was also revised to 82.6 percent.

China's inflation accelerated in August on soaring food prices, while producer prices fell at the fastest pace since late 2009 largely due to easing commodity prices.

Inflation rose to a 12-month high of 2 percent in August from 1.6 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday. It was expected to rise to 1.8 percent.

Producer prices declined at a faster pace of 5.9 percent annually, following a 5.4 percent drop in July. This was the weakest rate since late 2009 and marked 42 consecutive months of declines.

Core machine orders in Japan skidded 3.6 percent on month in July, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - worth 805.6 billion yen. The headline figure was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 3.3 percent following the 7.9 percent contraction in June.

French industrial production declined unexpectedly in July, data from the statistical office Insee revealed Thursday. Industrial production slid 0.8 percent in July from June, when it remained flat. It was expected to grow 0.2 percent.

France's non-farm payroll employment increased in the three months ended June after staying flat in the previous quarter, figures from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday. Payroll employment in the principally market sectors, which include the manufacturing, construction and service sectors, rose 0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter, after showing no variations in the preceding quarter.

U.K. house prices logged its biggest monthly increase in 15 months, data from Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division revealed Thursday. House prices advanced 2.7 percent in August from July, which was the fastest increase since May 2014. Economists had forecast prices to climb 0.5 percent after falling 0.4 percent in July.

House prices in the United Kingdom spiked in August, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Thursday as its house price balance surged to 53 percent. That topped forecasts for an increase of 46 percent and was up sharply from 44 percent in July.

In commodities, crude oil futures for October delivery are up $0.50 or 1.13 percent at $44.65 a barrel.

Natural gas for October is up 0.031 or 1.17 percent at $2.682 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are up $7.80 or 0.71 percent at $1,109.80 an ounce.

Silver for December is up $0.184 or 1.26 percent at $14.76 an ounce.