Canadian Stocks Are Down As Crude Oil Prices Fall -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market is under pressure in early trade Wednesday. Energy stocks are turning in a weak performance this morning after crude oil prices dropped to around $49 a barrel. Gold stocks are also losing ground as precious metal prices are slipping, following the gains of the previous day.

Markets in Europe are trading firmly in negative territory Wednesday. Some mixed corporate earnings reports and weakening crude oil prices are weighing on investor sentiment.

Markets in the United States are also trading slightly lower this morning, extending the losses of the previous session. A mixed financial report from Apple is having a negative impact on the markets. The company reported better than expected earnings, but revenue numbers came in just shy of expectations.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 35.12 points or 0.24 percent at 14,835.51.

On Tuesday, the index closed down 52.38 points or 0.35 percent, at 14,870.63. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,933.94 and a low of 14,865.77.

The Capped Information Technology Index is falling 1.89 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is weakening by 0.60 percent.

The Gold Index is declining 1.77 percent. Gold prices are nearly flat Wednesday morning, after touching a 3-week high during yesterday's session.

Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is decreasing 1.11 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is weakening by 2.88 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is surrendering 3.53 percent and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is losing 3.70 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is down 0.91 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is lower by 2.56 percent.

Premier Gold Mines Ltd.(PG.TO) is forfeiting 3.87 percent. The company has signed separate acquisition deals with Goldcorp and Kinross to buy exploration projects in Nevada and Mexico.

The Capped Materials Index is also down 1.12 percent. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is falling 1.20 percent and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is declining 2.76 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is decreasing 1.30 percent.

The Energy Index is down 1.52 percent. Crude oil prices are down Wednesday morning, sinking further below $50 a barrel.

Yesterday, industry group The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. crude stocks rose by 4.8 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 21. That was nearly triple the build forecast by analysts.

The U.S. EIA reported this morning that U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly decreased by 553,000 barrels last week.

Encana (ECA.TO) is falling 2.74 percent and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) is declining 2 percent. Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is losing 1.92 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is lower by 1.04 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is decreasing 1.24 percent and Enbridge (ENB.TO) is slipping 0.65 percent. Husky Energy (HSE.TO) is weakening by 1.43 percent and Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) is down 1.34 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is down 1.42 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is falling 1.52 percent and Finning International (FTT.TO) is down 0.61 percent. Air Canada (AC.TO) is decreasing 2.02 percent and AutoCanada (ACQ.TO) is dipping 0.24 percent.

Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is weakening by 3.82 percent. The company reported third quarter EPS of C$1.25, compared to $1.26 last year. The company also announced that it now expects 2016 adjusted EPS to be up approximately one percent versus last year's adjusted EPS of C$4.44.

The Capped Healthcare Index is lower by 0.15 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is down 0.58 percent and Extendicare (EXE.TO) is dropping 0.42 percent.

ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (PLI.TO) announced that plasminogen met its primary and secondary end points in a pivotal phase 2/3 trial. The stock is gaining 1 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is increasing 0.25 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is up 0.20 percent and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is rising 0.33 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is advancing 0.21 percent and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is adding 0.58 percent.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is climbing 0.26 percent. The company announced that it has reached a settlement deal with the Ontario Securities Commission on overcharging client fees.

The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is climbing 0.28 percent. Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) is increasing 0.66 percent and TELUS (T.TO) is adding 0.07 percent. Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO) is rising 0.43 percent.

Canadian Utilities LTD(CU.TO) announced third quarter adjusted earnings for 2016 of $96 million compared to $99 million in 2015. The stock is advancing 1.93 percent.

Osisko Mining Corp.(OSK.TO) has divested its stock in Kilo Goldmines. Shares are rising 0.66 percent.

On the economic front, Chinese consumer confidence improved for the second straight month in October to the strongest level in six months, led by a significant rise in consumers' willingness to spend, results of a survey by the Deutsche Boerse Group's MNI Indicators showed Wednesday.

The Westpac MNI consumer sentiment indicator climbed to 117.1 in October from 115.2 in the previous month.

German consumer confidence is set to weaken to a 7-month low in November as weak global growth is expected to affect the domestic activity, a closely watched survey revealed Wednesday. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell to 9.7 from 10.0 in October, the Nuremberg-based market research group GfK said in its monthly survey report.

The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 10.0. The indicator has fallen below the ten-point mark for the first time since June 2016 and reached its lowest value since April.

Germany's import prices decreased at a slower-than-expected pace in September, after rebounding in the previous month, figures from Destatis showed Wednesday.

Import prices fell 1.8 percent year-over-year in September, just below economists' expectations for a decline of 1.9 percent. In August, prices had risen 2.6 percent.

Data also showed that export prices decreased 0.6 percent in September from a year ago, while it showed no variations from the preceding month.

French consumer confidence improved as expected in October, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment index rose to 98 in October from 97 in September. A similar higher reading was last seen in May and reached the highest level since October 2007, when the score was 100.

U.K. mortgage approvals increased to a 3-month high in September, the British Bankers' Association reported Wednesday. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose to 38,252 in September from 37,241 in August. This was the highest since June, when approvals totaled 39,880.

The U.S. trade deficit in goods came in at $56.1 billion in September, down 5.2 percent from $59.1 billion in August.

New home sales rose in September, though the increase was helped by revisions to figures from the previous month. The rate of sales came in below what economists had expected.

Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that new home sales rose 3.1 percent to an annual rate of 593,000. Economists had expected a rate of 601,000. The result was 29.8 percent higher than last year.

In commodities, crude oil futures for November delivery are down 0.88 or 1.76 percent at $49.08 a barrel.

Natural gas for November is down 0.02 or 0.72 percent at $2.754 per million btu.

Gold futures for December are down $3.90 or 0.31 percent at $1,269.70 an ounce.

Silver for December is down $0.115 or 0.65 percent at $17.665 an ounce.