Canadian Stocks Are Sinking As Oil Prices Tumble Further -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is under pressure at the beginning of the new trading week, as the price of oil continues to drop. After finding a bit of support at the end of the prior week, the price of a barrel of oil has fallen to around $46 per barrel on Monday.

The mood among investors has been more subdued Monday, following the volatility of the previous week. Investors are now gearing up for the start of the earnings reporting season in the United States, which will unofficially kick-off when Alcoa reports its results after the close today.

There has not been much economic data released today to drive trading. A few reports have trickled out of Europe Monday, but there are no U.S. reports due to be released. Investors will be watching for the release of the U.S. retail sales data, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 245.7.3 points or 1.71 percent at 14,139.19.

On Friday, the index closed down 72.80 points or 0.50 percent, at 14,384.92. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,496.91 and a low of 14,325.15.

The Energy Index is sinking by 4.35 percent Monday, as the price of oil continues to decline. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is down 3.45 percent and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is lower by 4.46 percent. Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is sinking by 7.79 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is falling by 5.03 percent.

Encana (ECA.TO) is declining by 2.58 percent and Pacific Rubiales (PRE.TO) is plunging by 13.39 percent. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) is falling by 4.46 percent and ARC Resources (ARX.TO) is down 3.39 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is sinking by 3.82 percent. Teck Resources (TCK.TO) is falling by 4.51 percent and Canickel Mining (CML.TO) is sinking by 17.39 percent. Labrador Iron Mine (LIM.TO) is plunging by 16.67 percent and Capstone Mining (CS.TO) is down 3.92 percent.

The Gold Index is rising by 2.84 percent, as the price of gold has ticked higher. Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is up 0.61 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is adding 3.19 percent. B2Gold (BTO.TO) is higher by 2.59 percent and Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is advancing by 2.12 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is also climbing by 3.21percent.

The Capped Materials Index is also climbing by 0.37 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is increasing by 4.23 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is up 5.19 percent.

Rio Alto Mining (RIO.TO) is up 4.90 percent, after the company announced that it produced 222,255 ounces of gold in 2014.

The Financial Index is falling by 1.50 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is down 1.00 percent and Toronto-Dominion (TD.TO) is losing 1.10 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is falling by 0.84 percent and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is decreasing by 0.95 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is falling by 1.12 percent and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is down 1.44 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is declining by 1.78 percent. Bombardier (BBD.TO) is down 0.51 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) is losing 1.62 percent.

Onex Corp. (OCX.TO) is up 0.15 percent. The company agreed to acquire Survitec Group Ltd For $680 million.

The French economy expanded 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the third estimate of Bank of France, published on Monday. The estimate was unchanged from the prior forecast.

The business confidence in manufacturing dropped slightly to 96 in December from 97 in November. Business leaders expect a rebound in production in January.

Germany's manufacturing turnover declined in November after recovering in the previous month, figures from Destatis showed Monday.

Manufacturing turnover dropped by a seasonally and working-day adjusted 0.4 percent month-on-month in November, reversing a 1.2 percent rise logged in October. In September, the turnover fell 0.2 percent.

In commodities, crude oil futures for February delivery are down $2.25 or 4.65 percent at $46.11 a barrel.

Natural gas for February is down $0.098 or 3.33 percent at $2.848 per million btu.

Gold futures for February are up $10.80 or 0.89 percent at $1,226.90 an ounce.

Silver for March is up $0.136 or 0.83 percent at $16.555 an ounce.