TSX Edges Up Amid Fed Anxiety - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Extending gains for a third session, Canadian stocks were hovering in the green Tuesday morning even as commodities struggle to move higher, with traders turning cautious on tapering fears as the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting gets underway later today.

Elsewhere, the Asian markets ended mostly higher overnight, although gains remained muted ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting starting later in the day and the Bank of Japan's rate review on December 19-20. The European markets are trading lower on Tuesday as Fed tapering worries overshadowed upbeat macroeconomic data which showed that Germany's economic confidence increased to the highest level in nearly seven years in December, and also to a larger extent than expected by economists.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 29.08 points or 0.22 percent to 13,213.49, after adding about 70 points or 0.50 percent in the past two trading sessions.

The price of crude oil was ticking higher Tuesday morning as traders await cues from the outcome of the two-day FOMC meeting, due out tomorrow. Crude for January edged up $0.15 to $97.63 a barrel.

In the oil patch, Husky Energy (HSE.TO) and Tourmaline Oil (TOU.TO) were up close to 2 percent each.

Oil and gas company ARC Resources (ARX.TO) added over 1 percent after it said Chief Operating Officer Cameron Kramer has resigned for personal reasons. The company appointed Terry Anderson as the new COO.

On the other hand, MEG Energy (MEG.TO) shed close to 1 percent.

The price of gold was moving lower Tuesday morning, with the U.S. dollar trading flat amid the release of inflation data. Gold for February lost $15.90 to $1,228.50 an ounce.

Among gold plays, Seabridge Gold (SEA.TO) jumped over 6 percent, while Goldcorp. (G.TO) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) were down nearly 1 percent each.

Base-metals miner Teck Resources (TCK_B.TO) lost over 2 percent.

In economic news, from Canada, Statistics Canada said manufacturing sales rose to its highest level since May 2012, gaining 1 percent to $50.1 billion in October 2013. The sales increase in October was mostly aided by higher sales in the food industry. Sales also rose notably in the chemical industry.

From the U.S., the Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged in November after edging down by 0.1 percent in October. The flat reading for the index came in line with economist estimates. Meanwhile, the core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2 percent in November following a 0.1 percent uptick in the previous month. Economists had expected core prices to inch up by another 0.1 percent.

Elsewhere, euro zone inflation rose to 0.9 percent in November from 0.7 percent a month ago, Eurostat reported. The rate matched the flash estimate published on November 29. The statistical office revised core inflation down to 0.9 percent from 1 percent. The rate was slightly above October's 0.8 percent. Month-on-month, consumer prices slipped 0.1 percent in November.

Meanwhile, U.K. inflation slowed to 2.1 percent in November from 2.2 percent in October, the Office for National Statistics showed. The rate was forecast to remain at 2.2 percent in November. Inflation is now slightly above the 2 percent target.

Germany's economic confidence increased to the highest level in nearly seven years in December, and also to a larger extent than expected by economists, latest data showed. The ZEW indicator of Economic Sentiment climbed to 62 in December from 54.6 in November, results of a survey conducted by the Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW revealed. Economists were looking for a slower increase to 55.