Canadian Stocks May Be Stuck In Rut Thursday -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are likely to open on a subdued note after some disappointing U.S. and European economic data.

However, with weak U.S. jobless claims data and stagnant growth in the eurozone raising prospects for continued stimulus from central banks, the market is unlikely to see a sharp slide.

Investors will continue to look for news from Ukraine and the Middle East.

Energy and gold stocks may struggle due to sluggish commodity prices. Corporate earnings reports will give some direction to the market.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 15,262.73, down 11.50 points or 0.08 percent, after scaling a intraday high of 15,309.87 and a low of 15,242.86.

In corporate news, Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp. (CEU.TO) reported second-quarter net income of $8.5 million or $0.04 per share, compared to $1.9 million or $0.01 per share in the prior year quarter.

Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW.TO) reported second-quarter net earnings of $63.5 million or $0.18 per share, compared to $71.1 million or $0.20 per share, prior year.

Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO)'s net earnings rose to $228.5 million or $0.73 per share in the second quarter, up from $74.3 million or $0.23 per share, in the prior corresponding quarter.

IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) posted quarterly net loss to equity holders of $16 million or $0.04 per share, versus a loss of $28.4 million or $0.08 per share last year.

Karnalyte Resources Inc. (KRN.TO) said its second-quarter net finance loss narrowed to C$162 thousand from C$519 thousand in the prior year. Loss per share was C$0.05 compared to a loss of C$0.06 in the previous year.

Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR.B) has reported adjusted net income of $22.2 million or 18 cents per share for the second quarter, up $21.4 million or 17 cents per share last year.

In commodities, crude oil futures for September are down $0.17 or 0.17 percent at $97.40 a barrel, on likely fall in global demand for oil.

Natural gas for September is up $0.017 or 0.43 percent at $3.848 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are up $3.60 or 0.27 percent at $1,318.10 an ounce.

Silver for September is up $0.080 or 0.40 percent at $19.928 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper is down $0.008 or 0.17 percent at $3.104 per pound.

On the economic front, new home prices in Canada were up in June, with the housing price index rising 0.2 percent, said Statistics Canada. On yearly basis, new house prices rose 1.5 percent.

In economic news from the U.S., initial jobless claims rose more than expected to 311,000, up 21,000 from the previous week's revised level of 290,000. Economists expeced jobless claims to edge up to 295,000 from the 289,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, a report from the Labor Department showed import prices to have edged down by 0.2 percent in July, after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. Forecasts were for a drop of 0.3 percent in import prices. Export prices were unexpectedly unchanged in July following a 0.4 percent drop in the previous month.

Meanwhile, economic recovery in the eurozone unexpectedly came to a halt in the second quarter, with Germany and Italy shrinking from the prior quarter. GDP was flat in the June quarter, after seeing an increase of 0.2 percent in the preceding quarter.