TSX Ends Modestly Higher After Volatile Session

(RTTNews) - Despite seeing some wild swings during the course of the session, the Canadian stock market ended modestly higher on Thursday, riding on gains in energy and consumer staples shares.

While higher crude oil prices triggered strong buying in the energy space, the broad market remained a bit sluggish with investors treading somewhat cautiously as they looked ahead to the upcoming G20 Summit and the OPEC meet.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 22.79 points, or 0.15%, at 15,194.04, after scaling a low of 15,138.94 and a high of 15,251.18 intraday. On Wednesday, the index ended up 227.16 points, or 1.52%, at 15,171.25, the day's high.

The Capped Energy Index gained about 1.8%. Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) jumped more than 6%, Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) added about 3.4%, Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO) advanced by 2.3%, Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) gained 2.6%, ARC Resources (ARX.TO) gained 1.8%, Encana Corporation (ECA.TO) ended 1.2% up and Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU.TO) gained nearly 1%.

Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE.TO) gained nearly 7%, Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) added about 1%.

In the materials section, Teck Resources (TECK.B.TO) declined by about 2.3%, B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO) ended more than 4% down, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) ended 1.5% down and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) closed lower by 1.3%, while Methanex Corporation (MX.TO) gained about 1.6%.

The Capped Consumer Staples Index moved up by about 1.2%. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.B.TO), Loblaw Companies (L.TO), George Weston (WN.TO), Empire Company (EMP.A.TO), Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (PBH.TO) and Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI.TO) gained 1 to 2.3%.

Among bank stocks, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) edged down marginally. The bank said it earned $2.96 billion in its fourth quarter, up from $2.71 billion in the same quarter a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the group said it earned $1.63 per share for the quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.36 per share a year ago.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) declined 3.2%. The bank reported an 8% increase in fourth-quarter earnings. Growth at the bank's retail banking and wealth management divisions contributed to the surge in earnings.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) ended slightly lower, while Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained nearly 1%.

In the healthcare space, Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB.TO) declined more than 5%, Canopy Growth Corporation (WEED.TO) ended 2% down and Aphria Inc. (APHA.TO) plunged more than 7%, while Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC.TO) gained 2%.

On the economic front, a report from Statistics Canada showed that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,004 in September, not much changed changed from the previous month.

The U.S. market ended modestly lower after a volatile session. The Dow moved in a nearly 300-point range before edging down 27.59 points or 0.1% and the Nasdaq slipped 18.51 points or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 dipped 5.99 points or 0.2%.

The slightly weak close came after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting held earlier this month seemed to reinforce expectations for another quarter-point increase in interest rates next month.

The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting said almost all participants agreed another increase in rates was "likely to be warranted fairly soon."

The Fed noted a near-term rate hike would be dependent on incoming information on the labor market and inflation coming in line with or stronger than current expectations.

On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell described the current level of interest rates as "just below" neutral. Powell said, "Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy--that is, neither speeding up nor slowing down growth."

A report from the National Association of Realtors showed U.S. pending home sales index plunged by 2.6% to 102.1 in October after climbing by 0.7% to an upwardly revised 104.8 in September. With the steep drop, the index fell to its lowest level since mid-2014.

The Labor Department also released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose to a six-month high in the week ended November 24th.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income and spending both increased by more than anticipated in the month of October.

European markets ended mostly higher, although buying interest was somewhat subdued with investors looking ahead to the G20 summit and the developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday. Markets in China and Hong Kong, however, closed weak amid anxiety ahead of crucial Trump-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit later this week.

In commodities, crude oil futures for January which fell to below $50 a barrel to record the lowest level in thirteen months, rebounded sharply to end at $51.45 a barrel, gaining $1.16, or 2.3% for the session.

Gold futures for February ended up $0.60, or 0.05%, at $1,230.40 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down 0.6% at $14.37 an ounce, while Copper futures for March ended down 1% at $2.785 per pound.