TSX Ends Lower As Energy Stocks Slump -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks snapped a three-day gain to end lower on Thursday, driven by declining energy stocks as crude oil prices slumped amid mounting concerns of a supply glut with indications that global stockpiles will continue to rise.

Investors viewed the Fed statement yesterday as dovish regarding the outlook for interest rates, after the central bank indicated economic growth as having moderated somewhat and unlikely to raise interest at its April meeting. However, the central bank withdrew its pledge to remain "patient" regarding normalizing monetary policy.

In her press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen stressed that removing the word patient from the statement did not mean the central bank is going to be impatient. She indicated the timing to rates hike will be data dependent. Citing concerns that U.S. economic growth was moderating due in part to the rapid rise in the dollar, the Fed signaled it would push out any interest rate to at least mid-year.

Traders also seemed to focus on the fact that the Fed lowered its outlook for interest rates at the end of this year. The median projection for the mid-point of the fed funds target range at the end of 2015 is now 0.625 percent, down from the 1.125 percent projection made in December.

In some soft economic news, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased slightly in the week ended March 14, a report from the Labor Department on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Thursday at 14,873.93, down 88.31 points or 0.59 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,964.18 and a low of 14,817.49.

On Wednesday, the index closed up 63.71 points or 0.43 percent, at 14,962.24. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,028.01 and a low of 14,825.18.

Crude oil lower ended sharply lower as the dollar strengthened, even as the post-Federal Reserve rally quickly ran out of steam amid mounting concerns of a supply glut with indications that global stockpiles will continue to rise.

The Energy Index plunged 2.74 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for April delivery, dropping $0.70 or 1.6 percent to settle at $43.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among energy stocks, Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) dived 4.54 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) shed 1.45 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) slipped 2.70 percent, and Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) surrendered 4.18 percent.

Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) dropped 1.84 percent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) fell 5.06 percent. Pacific Rubiales Energy (PRE.TO) jumped 6.42 percent.

RMP Energy (RMP.TO) tanked 25.20 percent, after reporting its fourth quarter results and slashing its capital expenditures budget for 2015 to between $95 million to $100 million, from a previously projected $150 million.

Delphi Energy (DEE.TO) dived 4.17 percent, after reporting a fourth quarter loss of C$0.16 per share, compared to the loss of C$0.11 per share last year.

Gold futures ended sharply higher, extending gains from the previous session after the Federal Reserve said it would not raise interest rates in April.

The Gold Index gained 0.21 percent, with gold for April delivery gaining $17.70 or 1.5 percent to settle at $1,169.00 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

Among gold stocks, Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) added 1.01 percent, Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) gained 1.81 percent, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) moved up 0.65 percent, and Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) added 2.38 percent.

Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) gained 0.85 percent, while Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) added 1.36 percent.

Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) gained 3.65 percent, after the company reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $0.14 per share compared with $0.26 per share last year. The consensus earnings estimate was $0.15 per share.

The Capped Materials Index fell 0.59 percent, mainly to declining gold stocks, with Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) down 2.58 percent.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) dropped 2.63 percent after revealing changes to potash taxation in conjunction with the Government of Saskatchewan's 2015-16 provincial budget are expected to decrease the company's 2015 pre-tax earnings by C$75 to C$100 million.

The heavyweight Financial Index dropped 0.33 percent, with Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) down 0.05 percent, and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) dropping 0.68 percent.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) fell 0.22 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.67 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) fell 0.50 percent, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) shed 0.20 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index declined 1.40 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) added 0.15 percent, Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) moved up 3.15 percent, and Teck Resources Limited (TCK-B.TO) surrendered 1.07 percent.

The Health Care Index gained 1.09 percent, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) added 1.68 percent, Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) inched up 0.11 percent, and Extendicare Inc. (EXE.TO) advanced 0.95 percent.

ProMetic Life Sciences (PLI.TO) surrendered 2.55 percent, after completing its PBI-4050 Phase Ib multi-dose clinical trial in patients with chronic kidney disease.

The Capped Industrials Index shed 0.25 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) adding 2.45 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) up 0.48 percent.

The Information Technology Index moved up 0.54 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) gaining 1.06 percent, Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SW.TO) up 0.90 percent, and Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) up 0.16 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index fell 0.15 percent, with Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) shedding 0.39 percent and BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) up 0.54 percent.

TELUS (T.TO) fell 0.89 percent, after completing its acquisition of Medesync.

On the economic front, first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased slightly in the week ended March 14, a report from the Labor Department said Thursday. The initial jobless claims inched up to 291,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 290,000. Economists expected jobless claims to rise to 293,000 from the 289,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region has increased at a modest pace in March, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed Thursday, although the index of regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly showed a slight decrease. The Philly Fed's diffusion index of current activity edged down to 5.0 in March from 5.2 in February. Economists expected the index to climb to 7.0.

A Conference Board's report on Thursday showed another modest increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in February, continuing to point to short-term growth. The Board's leading economic index edged up by 0.2 percent in February, matching the increase seen in January. The increase was in line with economists' estimates.

Elsewhere, eurozone labor costs growth slowed for the second consecutive quarter in the three months to December 2014, figures from Eurostat revealed Thursday. The nominal hourly labor costs grew a working-day adjusted 1.1 percent year-on-year following 1.4 percent gain in the third quarter. In the three months to June, labor costs had risen 1.5 percent.

U.K. gross mortgage lending declined in February as housing activity remains weak, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported Thursday. Gross mortgage lending reached GBP 13.4 billion in February, down by around 9 percent from both January and from last year.