TSX Ends Lower On Commodity Prices -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower for a sixth straight session on Friday, tracking declining global equity markets with continued weakness in commodity prices dragging the market down.

Precious metal prices were under pressure after some weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data. Gold prices have slumped to a 5-year low, while copper, aluminum, silver and platinum prices have also dropped to multi-year lows.

Markets in Europe ended firmly in the negative, reversing early gains. Eurozone economic growth slowed slightly in July, while Eurozone consumer confidence continued to weaken. Investors continue to sift through a large number of corporate earnings report.

Meanwhile, officials from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund were all set to meet in Athens today to start detailed discussions with the Greek government on a new bailout deal.

Markets in the United States also ended firmly in the red, with the lackluster performance attributed to some mixed earnings news as well as the disappointing new home sales and Chinese manufacturing data.

Investors weighed some crucial economic data from China, with the country's manufacturing sector contracting at an accelerated pace once again in July, a survey from Caixin revealed on Friday.

Economic news from the U.S. also disappointed with new home sales unexpectedly pulling back in June, with sales falling to their lowest level in seven months, a Commerce Department release said on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday at 14,186.24, down 79.13 points or 0.55 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,275.47 and a low of 14,145.27.

On Thursday, the index closed down 41.75 points or 0.29 percent, at 14,265.37. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,339.29 and a low of 14,168.90.

Gold futures ended lower as the dollar strengthened with continued investor concerns over the timing of the imminent Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year.

The Gold Index jumped 4.15 percent, although gold for August delivery shed $8.60 or 0.8 percent, to settle at $1,085.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) gained 2.30 percent, Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) added 4.14 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) moved up 0.75 percent.

IAMGOLD Corp. soared 14.56 percent, while Royal Gold, Inc. (RGL.TO) gathered 4.31 percent. B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) added 4.17 percent and Lake Shore Gold Corp. (LSG.TO) gained 4.55 percent. Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) moved up 2.82 percent.

The Capped Materials Index gained 1.06 percent, as Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) fell 0.90 percent, Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) dipped 1.00 percent, and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) jumped 7.20 percent.

Crude oil futures ended lower as supply glut worries continued to plague markets with Iranian crude also expected to further add to the already burgeoning supplies. Crude oil was also impacted by demand growth concerns after some disappointing economic data from China.

The Energy Index plunged 2.18 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropping $0.31 or 0.6 percent, to settle at $48.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Among energy stocks, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) fell 1.69 percent, while Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) shed 1.67 percent. Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) dropped 3.08 percent, while Enbridge Inc. inched up 0.18 percent.

Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) tanked 8.64 percent after reporting a wider than expected loss for the second quarter.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index fell 1.57 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) dived 2.28 percent, HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) gathered 3.73 percent.

Sherritt International (S.TO) shed 2.55 percent, while Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) added 1.90 percent. Teck Resources Limited (TCK-B.TO) plummeted 6.75 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index shed 0.70 percent, as National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) fell 1.20 percent, Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) dropped 0.42 percent, and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) surrendered 1.24 percent.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) dropped 0.33 percent, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) declined 0.51 percent, and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.61 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index gained 1.30 percent as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) fell 4.20 percent, Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) fell 0.58 percent, and Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) advanced 0.76 percent.

The Capped Information Technology Index slipped 0.30 percent, as Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) inched up 0.09 percent and Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) dropped 1.30 percent.

BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) dropped 3.52 percent. The U.S. Department of Defense has approved the use of derived Public Key Infrastructure credentials on BlackBerry OS and BlackBerry 10 smartphones.

The Capped Telecommunication Index added 0.90 percent, as Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) gained 0.79 percent, TELUS Corp. (T.TO) moved up 0.78 percent, Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. fell 0.24 percent, and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) climbed 2.40 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index moved up 0.19 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD-B.TO) gaining 3.49 percent, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) added 1.54 percent and Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) moved up 0.51 percent.

Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) surged 9.51 percent, after its second quarter profit surpassed expectations.

On the economic front, new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly pulled back in June, with sales falling to their lowest level in seven months, a Commerce Department report said Friday. New home sales tumbled 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 482,000 in June from the downwardly revised May rate of 517,000. Economists expected sales to edge up to 550,000 from the 546,000 originally reported for the previous month.

China's manufacturing sector contracted again in July and at an accelerated pace, a survey from Caixin revealed on Friday, with a flash PMI score of 48.2. That marked a 15-month low score, and was well shy of a forecast for 49.7.

Eurozone consumer confidence deteriorated at a faster-than-expected pace for a fourth straight month in July, preliminary estimates from the European Commission showed Thursday. The flash consumer confidence index dropped to -7.1 from -5.6 in June. Economists had forecast a score of -5.8.

Despite uncertain developments in Greece, Eurozone economic growth slowed only slightly in July as private sector activity rose at one of the strongest pace seen over the last four years, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 53.7 in July from June's four-year high of 54.2. But it remained slightly above the average seen over the first half of the year. The expected score was 54.

Germany's private sector expanded at a slower pace in July, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday. The flash composite output index dropped to 53.4 in July from 53.7 in June.

The French private sector growth slowed to a three-month low in July, flash survey data from Markit Economics showed Friday, with the composite output index falling to 51.5 in July from June's 46-month high of 53.3.

British households perceive that the value of their home increased in July, a survey from Knight Frank and Markit Economics showed Friday. The house price sentiment index, or HPSI, dropped to 58.6 in July from 59.5 in the previous month.

U.K. mortgage approvals increased for the sixth straight month to a 15-month high in June and came in above economist expectations, data from the British Bankers' Association showed Friday. The number of mortgage approvals rose to a seasonally adjusted 44,488 in June from 42,876 in April. It was forecast to rise to 43,300. The latest figure was the highest since March 2014, when approvals totaled 45,574.