TSX Ends Marginally Lower

(RTTNews) - The Canadian stock market ended marginally lower on Thursday, dragged down by losses in energy, materials and healthcare sections.

After a negative start, the market swiftly rallied into positive territory this morning, but faltered soon and despite staging a recovery around mid afternoon, ended weak as investors largely stayed reluctant to pick up stocks amid trade war concerns.

The U.S.-China trade tensions continue to escalate with China set to resolutely retaliate against U.S.' moves to impose tariffs on Chinese goods that get into the U.S.

Reports say that U.S. tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods will likely take effect later next month. A retaliatory move by China, which is very likely, is certain to adversely impact the global economy.

Investors also digested a report from Statistics Canada that showed the second quarter GDP to have grown at an annualized rate of 2.9%, slightly above the central bank's forecast of a 2.8% growth, and much faster than the 1.4% increase in the first quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile, Canada is back at the table to negotiate and modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement. Earlier in the week, Mexico and the U.S. had announced a bilateral deal. U.S. President Donald Trump said recently that if Canada and U.S. could not reach a deal, more tariffs on imports of Canadian cars will be imposed by his administration. He has set a Friday deadline for the three countries to reach an in-principle agreement.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 18.74 points, or 0.11%, at 16,371.55, after scaling a high of 16,439.24 and a low of 16,349.55 intraday. On Wednesday, the index ended up 34.75 points, or 0.21%, at 16,390.29.

Although crude oil prices edged higher for a second straight day, energy stocks were mostly weak. Materials stocks struggled for support due to a drop in gold prices. After recent strong gains, healthcare stocks eased on profit taking. Losses in these sectors outweighed the gains posted by stocks from information technology, industrials and consumer staples sections.

The Capped Financials Index declined marginally. TD Bank Group reported earnings of nearly $3.11 billion in its latest quarter, up from $2.77 billion in the same quarter last year, boosted by growth in its U.S. business. The bank said the profit amounted to $1.65 per diluted share for the three months ended July 31, up from $1.46 a year ago. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) shares ended lower by about 0.5%.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) ended modestly higher. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) edged down marginally, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) ended flat.

The Capped Energy Index lost 0.69%. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO), ARC Resources (ARX.TO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) lost 1.1 to 2%. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) declined by 0.6 to 1%, while Suncor Energy (SU.TO), Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) and PrairieSky Royalty (PSK.TO) ended modestly higher.

The Capped Materials Index shed 1.13%. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) tanked more than 5%, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) declined by 2% and Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) ended 1.7% down, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO), Barrick Gold Corporation (ABX.TO) and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM.TO) declined by 0.7 to 1%.

The Capped Healthcare Index ended 1.77% lower. Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED) shed 3.5%, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) declined by 3%, Aphria Inc. (APH.TO) eased by 1.7% and Extendicare (EXE.TO) closed lower by 1.3%. Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD.TO) gained about 1.2%.

The Capped Information Technology Index and the Industrials Index were up 0.94% and 0.73%, respectively. BRP Inc. has raised its financial guidance, after reporting a second-quarter profit of $41 million. The company now expects its normalized earnings per diluted share for the year to increase 30 to 35% compared with the previous year. Earlier, the company had predicted a growth of 24 to 30%. The stock climbed up 7.8% in the session.

Resolute Forest Products Inc. (RFP.TO) gained 1.6% after the company announced that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with ND Paper LLC, a subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited, for the sale of its Fairmont, West Virginia, recycled bleached kraft pulp mill, for $55 million plus certain elements of working capital, payable in cash.

In commodities, crude oil futures for October delivery ended up $0.74, or 1.1%, at $70.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest finish in over seven weeks.

Gold futures for December ended down $6.50, or 0.5%, at $1,205 an ounce.

Silver futures for December ended down $0.216, at $14.594 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.7175 per pound, down $0.0190 from previous close.

Asian markets ended mostly lower as worries about the escalating Washington-Beijing trade war overshadowed investor optimism about the NAFTA trade talks.

The European markets got off to a weak start and remained in negative territory throughout the session. Investor sentiment took a hit from renewed concerns that China's growth is slowing. Brexit fears also weighed on the markets.

The U.S. market ended notably lower after a report from Bloomberg said President Donald Trump intends to move ahead with plans to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports as early as next week. The Dow slid 0.5%, the Nasdaq declined by about 0.3% and the S&P 500 ended lower by 0.4%.

In economic news from Europe, survey results from European Commission showed Eurozone economic sentiment index to have dropped to 111.6 in August from 112.1 in July. The expected score was 111.9.

Germany's consumer prices increased at a steady pace in August, preliminary estimate from Destatis showed Thursday. Consumer price inflation remained stable at 2% in August. The rate also matched economists' expectations.

Germany's unemployment decreased in August. Data from Destatis showed the unemployment rate held steady at adjusted 3.4% in July. On an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate came in at 3.4%, but down from 3.5% in the previous month.

Germany's import prices grew at the fastest pace in more than a year in July, data from Destatis showed Thursday, accelerating to 5% in the month, from 4.8% in June.

UK mortgage approvals decreased more than expected in July, figures from the Bank of England revealed Thursday.

In economic news from U.S., first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a modest increase in the week ended August 25th, according to data released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 213,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 210,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge up to 214,000.

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed personal income and spending in the U.S. both increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July. The report also said personal spending climbed by 0.4% in July, matching the increase in the previous month as well as economist estimates.