Canadian Stocks Are Higher After Commodities Rebound -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market has bounced back into the green Thursday morning, after recovering from some early weakness. Mining and raw material stocks are rising following a strong rebound in commodity prices. Financial stocks remain under pressure after disappointing earnings reports from U.S. banks Citigroup and Bank of America.

The U.S. stock market is struggling to find direction after the release of some mixed economic data. U.S. producer prices for December fell more than expected Wednesday morning, but U.S. weekly jobless claims increased more than anticipated. A report on New York manufacturing activity increased more than expected, but the report on activity in Philadelphia sank sharply.

Investors are also watching the European currencies after Switzerland shocked the market this morning. The Swiss National Bank unexpectedly decided to end the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.2 per euro. The bank introduced the ceiling in September 2011 when the Swiss franc was exceptionally overvalued.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 49.71 points or 0.35 percent at 14,134.14. The market is off its intraday low of $14,017.17.

On Wednesday, the index closed down 102.73 points or 0.72 percent, at 14,084.43. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,119.75 and a low of 13,892.57

The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is increasing by 2.01 percent, as commodity prices recover. Teck Resources (TCK.TO) is up 0.44 percent and Capstone Mining (CS.TO) is gaining 0.78 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is advancing by 4.84 percent and Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ.TO) rising by 1.23 percent. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is gaining 4.70 percent and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is higher by 1.44 percent.

The Gold Index is surging by 5.06 percent as the price of gold climbs. Kinross Gold (K.TO) is rising 5.79 percent and Goldcorp (G.TO) is increasing by 6.69 percent. Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is climbing by 7.04 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is adding 7.85 percent. Royal Gold (RGL.TO) is up 4.58 percent and Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is higher by 6.25 percent.

The Capped Materials Index is also up 2.94 percent, mostly on the rise of gold prices. Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is increasing by 4.14 percent and Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is up 2.66 percent. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is surging by 6.07 percent and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is adding 0.91 percent.

The Financial Index is modestly higher, rising by 0.36 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is up 1.09 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) is adding 0.33 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is increasing by 1.27 percent and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is gaining 0.39 percent. Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is also rising by 0.56 percent.

The Energy Index is gaining 0.70 percent, as the price of oil shows signs of stabilizing. Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is up 0.32 percent and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is higher by 0.46 percent. Encana (ECA.TO) is climbing by 2.67 percent and Pacific Rubiales Energy is adding 0.48 percent. Crescent Point Energy is also gaining 0.98 percent.

The Information Technology Index is declining by 1.77 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is losing 3.36 percent and BlackBerry (BB.TO) is sinking by 16.71 percent. BlackBerry announced late Wednesday that it has not engaged in discussions with South Korea's Samsung Electronics, with respect to any possible offer to buy BlackBerry.

The Capped Industrial Index is down 0.61 percent. Bombardier (BBD-A.TO) is sinking by 22.41, after the company announced that it is pausing the Learjet 85 business aircraft program, citing weak demand for the all-composite mid-size business jet. Air Canada (AC.TO) is also down 1.26 percent.

The Health Care Index is higher by 1.45 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX.TO) is up 0.66 percent and Catamaran (CCT.TO) is adding 0.63 percent. Extendicare (EXE.TO) is climbing by 3.02 percent, after the company agreed to acquire Revera's Home Health business for $83 million.

Centamin (CEE.TO) is down 0.83 percent. The company announced Thursday that Andrew Pardey has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and also will join the Board as an Executive Director effective February 1.

With energy prices showing another substantial decrease, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. producer prices saw their biggest drop in over three years in the month of December.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.3 percent in December following a 0.2 percent drop in November. The drop by the index reflected the biggest decrease since October of 2011, although economists had expected the index to slide by 0.4 percent.

In a potentially troubling sign for the labor market, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped to a four-month high in the week ended January 10th

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 316,000, an increase of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level of to 297,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 295,000 from the 294,000 originally reported for the previous week.

After reporting an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity in the previous month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report on Thursday showing that business activity for New York manufacturers has expanded in January.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index jumped to a positive 10.0 in January from a negative 1.2 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to climb to a positive 5.0.

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area grew at a notably slower pace in the month of January, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index of current activity tumbled to 6.3 in January from 24.3 in December, hitting its lowest level since last February.

While a positive reading indicates continued growth in regional manufacturing activity, economists had expected the index to show a much more modest decrease to 20.0.

Eurozone trade surplus set a new record in November, helped by a marginal growth in exports and stagnant imports, and weaker euro is likely to boost demand for exports going forward. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 20 billion from EUR 19.6 billion in October, figures from Eurostat revealed Thursday.

Germany's economy grew the most in three years during 2014 amid record high employment, largely led by domestic demand and investments, and the country recorded a fiscal surplus for the third consecutive year. Gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent, in line with economists' expectations, preliminary data from Destatis showed Thursday. The figure was much better than the modest 0.1 percent growth in 2013.

In commodities, crude oil futures for February delivery are down $0.23 or 0.47 percent at $48.25 a barrel.

Natural gas for February is up $0.81 or 2.51 percent at $3.314 per million btu.

Gold futures for February are up $23.90 or 1.94 percent at $1,258.40 an ounce.

Silver for March is up $0.092 or 0.54 percent at $17.08 an ounce. Copper for March is also up 0.0615 or 2.45 percent at $2.567.