TSX Poised For Weak Open - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks are poised for a weak opening Tuesday as commodities move lower amid fresh fears over Fed tapering following some better than expected third quarter U.S. gross domestic product growth and a decline in initial jobless claims.

Asian stocks settled mixed overnight as investors waited for speeches by major Federal Reserve officials due this week for clues about the outlook for U.S. monetary policy. The European markets are trading lower as traders wait cautiously before making any big moves.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a lower open.

On Monday, the S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 19.95 points or 0.15 percent to 13,358.39.

The price of crude oil after the OPEC in its monthly oil market report released today maintained 2014 global oil demand forecast at 1.04 mbd, while nudging up 2013 global oil demand forecast. Crude for December shed $0.32 to $94.82 a barrel.

The price of gold was ticking lower Tuesday morning, with the US dollar trading firm versus a basket of currencies amid speculation about tapering of the Federal Reserve's quantitative program. Gold for December eased $0.40 to $1,280.70 an ounce.

In corporate news from Canada, healthcare company Shoppers Drug Mart Corp (SC.TO) posted third-quarter net earnings of C$166 million or C$0.83 per share compared with C$168 million or C$0.81 per share last year. On an adjusted basis, net earnings per share amounted to C$0.88 in the latest quarter. Analysts estimated earnings per share of C$0.81 for the period.

InterOil Corp. (IOC) slipped into the red in third-quarter, reporting net loss of $6.3 million or $0.13 per share compared to net profit of $5.3 million or $0.11 per share last year.

In economic news from the euro zone, Germany's EU harmonized inflation weakened in October at a faster pace than estimated earlier, final figures released by the Federal Statistical Office showed. The harmonized index of consumer prices advanced 1.2 percent in October from the same month of last year, slightly slower than the 1.3 percent gain the government had estimated earlier. In September, prices had recorded a 1.6 percent increase.

Germany's wholesale trade prices declined at the fastest rate since late 2009 in October, data released by Destatis showed. The wholesale price index fell 2.7 percent year-on-year, following a 2.2 percent drop in September. The index dropped for the third successive month and the rate of decline was the biggest since November 2009, when prices decreased 3.7 percent, the agency said.

Elsewhere, U.K. inflation slowed more than expected in October to the lowest since September 2012, official data showed. Nonetheless, it hovers above the 2 percent target. Consumer price inflation dipped to 2.2 percent from 2.7 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics said. It fell below the 2.5 percent consensus.

An indicator of the performance of the British economy rose sharply in September, indicating that the ongoing recovery will continue in the coming months, survey data published by the Conference Board showed. The leading economic index advanced 1.5 percent sequentially to 107 in September. This followed a 1.2 percent gain in August and a 0.7 percent rise in July. Six of the seven components that constitute the leading index made positive contributions in September