Canadian Stocks Are Falling On Global Cues -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market was struggling to find direction in early trade Tuesday, before turning sharply to the downside. Global markets dropped after reports that a U.S. cargo vessel was seized by Iran and escorted to the port of Bandar Abbas. The market has begun to stabilize after American officials have denied the report.

European markets were weak in early trade and have dropped further on the reports. The weaker than anticipated British GDP report and some mixed earnings reports were blamed for the early weakness.

Markets in the United States are also under pressure Tuesday morning. Investors were displeased with a batch of weak earnings reports from companies like Whirlpool and Ford Motor. The unexpected drop in U.S. consumer confidence is also weighing on investor sentiment.

Investors are also playing it cautious ahead of Wednesday's announcement from the Federal Reserve. The Fed will conclude its 2-day policy meeting tomorrow. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at this week's meeting, but traders will be paying close attention to comments regarding a rate hike at the June meeting.

Annual growth in home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas accelerated by more than expected in the month of February, according to a report released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday. The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index jumped 5.0 percent year-over-year in February compared to a downwardly revised 4.5 percent increase in January.

Economists had expected the annual rate of growth to accelerate to 4.7 percent from the 4.6 percent originally reported for the previous month.

After reporting a significant rebound in U.S. consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing that its consumer confidence index unexpectedly pulled back sharply in the month of April.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 95.2 in April from an upwardly revised 101.4 in March. The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer confidence index to climb to a reading of 102.5.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 54.90 points or 0.36 percent at 15,289.18.

On Monday, the index closed down 64.25 points or 0.42 percent, at 15,344.08. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,456.35 and a low of 15,317.58.

The Gold Index is climbing by 2.38 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is increasing by 2.31 percent and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is rising by 1.48 percent. Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is gaining 2.64 percent and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is up 2.77 percent. B2Gold (BTO.TO) is higher by 3.70 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is advancing 2.52 percent. Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is climbing by 1.82 percent and IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is adding 0.74 percent.

The Capped Materials Index is also higher by 0.80 percent. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is advancing by 3.95 percent and Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is up 2.40 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is higher by 3.12 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is adding 0.29 percent.

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is falling by 0.69 percent. Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is down 0.55 percent and HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is falling by 1.60 percent. Finning International (FTT.TO) is losing 0.84 percent and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is declining by 1.02 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index is down 0.30 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is falling by 0.21 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) losing by 0.43 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is lower by 0.30 percent and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is declining by 0.33 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is lower by 0.41 percent.

The Energy Index is decreasing by 0.35 percent. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) is down 0.52 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is falling by 0.20 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is losing by 0.96 percent and Canadian Oil Sands (COS.TO) is declining by 1.83 percent. Encana (ECA.TO) decreasing by 0.41 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is lower by 0.19 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index is falling by 1.15 percent. Catamaran (CCT.TO) is down 0.11 percent and Concordia Healthcare (CXR.TO) is lower by 5.48 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index is lower by 1.13 percent. Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is down 2.56 percent and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is falling by 2.08 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index is declining by 0.71 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is falling by 1.21 percent and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is losing 1.12 percent. AutoCanada (AUQ.TO) is also down 0.20 percent.

On the economic front, the British economy expanded at the slowest pace since 2012, reflecting contraction in construction and industrial activity, preliminary estimate published by the Office for National Statistics revealed Tuesday.

Gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent sequentially during the January to March period, the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2012. The growth rate was forecast to slow marginally to 0.5 percent from the 0.6 percent logged in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Loans approved for house purchase in the U.K. rose to the highest level in six months during March, data from the British Bankers' Association showed Tuesday. The number of loans approved for house purchase climbed to 38,751 from 37,453 in March. Economists had expected an increase in the figure to 38,700.

French consumer confidence strengthened to its highest level since January 2010, survey data from the statistical office Insee revealed Tuesday. The consumer confidence index rose to 94 in April, the highest level since January 2010, from 93 in March. The reading came in line with expectations.

French unemployment rose to a record high in March, data released by the labor ministry revealed late Monday. The number of unemployed increased 15,400 or 0.4 percent from February to 3.51 million in March.

In commodities, crude oil futures for June delivery are up $0.69 or 1.21 percent at $57.68 a barrel.

Natural gas for May is up $0.008 or 0.32 percent at $2.498 per million btu.

Gold futures for June are up $8.20 or 0.68 percent at $1,211.40 an ounce.

Silver for May is up $0.181 or 1.10 percent at $16.575 an ounce.