TSX Ends Lower With Greece In Focus -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower on Tuesday, on concerns over Greece's financial health with no indication of any agreement with Athens on the economic reforms demanded by the European Union to unlock the bailout aid. The loss follows gains in the previous session with majority of the sectors in the red led by mining, energy, and industrial stocks.

Investors continued to worry over Greece with no agreement in sight on the economic reforms demanded by the European Union. In the absence of any agreement over economic reforms, the possibility of Greece exiting the eurozone looms large.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is exploring measures to reduce the Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greek banks, reports said Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions. ECB Staff have suggested an increase in the haircuts banks take on the collateral they offer for emergency funding from the Bank of Greece, both Bloomberg and CNBC said.

The possibilities are Greek banks may soon run out of collateral to access European Central Bank refinancing unless Athens reaches a deal over the release of another 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds from the European Union. A crucial meeting of euro-area finance ministers is scheduled to take place in Latvia on April 24.

In some soft economic news, Canadian wholesale sales dropped to their lowest level in 6 months in February.

Markets in Europe ended mostly in positive territory, boosted by some upbeat earnings reports from companies like SAP, Credit Suisse and ARM Holdings. The corporate results have overshadowed an unexpected dip in German economic sentiment.

Markets in the United States ended mixed. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing lower. However, Nasdaq posted modest gains, as corporate financial results continued to dominate the headlines on what is the heaviest week of the U.S. reporting season.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Tuesday at 15,346.44, down 66.16 points or 0.43 percent. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,434.06 and a low of 15,300.19.

On Monday, the index closed up 52.02 points or 0.34 percent, at 15,412.60. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,483.12 and a low of 15,376.78, as investors cheered China's move to provide an unexpected stimulus.

Gold futures ended ended higher on its safe haven appeal as the economic turmoil in Greece continued unabated with signs of an agreement with Athens on the economic reforms demanded by the European Union to release the bailout aid.

The Gold Index moved up 1.11 percent, with gold for June delivery gaining $9.40 or 0.8 percent to settle at $1,203.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG.TO) gained 2.26 percent, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM.TO) moved up 1.93 percent, Kinross Gold Corp (K.TO) gathered 1.77 percent, and Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) added 0.96 percent.

Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) shed 0.46 percent, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) surrendered 0.41 percent, and Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD.TO) dropped 1.64 percent.

Crude oil prices ended lower Monday, ahead of the weekly oil report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, amid mounting tensions in the Middle East and the Greek financial woes continuing to engulf Europe.

The Energy Index fell 1.50 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropping $1.27 or 2.3 percent, to settle at $56.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Among energy stocks, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE.TO) plunged 7.25 percent, while Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. (LEG.TO) shed 1.48 percent.

Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) fell 0.87 percent, Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ.TO) shed 1.98 percent, and Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS.TO) dropped 3.86 percent.

Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG.TO) fell 1.42 percent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE.TO) dropped 1.46 percent.

Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) gained 0.73 percent, while. Bonterra Energy (BNE.TO) shed 3.58 percent,

The Capped Materials Index dipped 0.08 percent, with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.TO) inching up 0.08 percent and Agrium Inc. (AGU.TO) adding 1.10 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index plunged 3.19 percent, as First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) dropped 3.19 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) fell 1.38 percent.

Teck Resources (TCK.B.TO) plummeted 6.44 percent, after reporting adjusted earnings C$0.11 per share for the first quarter, down from C$0.18 last year and announced a dividend cut.

Capstone Mining Corp. (CS.TO) lost 2.99 percent and HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) declined 3.43 percent.

The heavyweight Financial Index dropped 0.35 percent, as Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 0.51 percent and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) added 0.16 percent.

National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) shed 0.35 percent, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) dived 1.19 percent, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) dropped 0.28 percent, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) slipped 0.07 percent.

The Capped Health Care Index added 1.60 percent, as Extendicare (EXE.TO) gathered 1.03 percent, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (VRX.TO) gathered 3.28 percent.

Catamaran Corp. (CCT.TO) added 0.70 percent, while Concordia Healthcare Corp. (CXR.TO) moved up 2.76 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index fell 1.84 percent, as Air Canada declined 0.74 percent, while Finning International Inc. (FTT.TO) shed 3.98 percent and SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC.TO) declined 4.02 percent.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP.TO) fell 2.17 percent after reporting reporting first quarter adjusted earnings of $2.26 per share, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 per share.

Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO) dropped 3.10 percent, having reported first quarter earnings of C$0.86 per share, which beat the consensus estimate of C$0.85 per share.

Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.TO) ended flat at $80.77 a share.

The Information Technology Index gained 1.16 percent, with BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) gained 0.49 percent, after the smartphone maker agreed to acquire WatchDox Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

Among other tech stocks, Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO) gained 1.63 percent, Sierra Wireless, Inc. (SW.TO) fell 0.89 percent, and Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG.TO) moved up 0.30 percent.

The Capped Telecommunication Index moved up 0.42 percent, as BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) gathered 0.53 percent and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MBT.TO) gained 0.47 percent.

Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) added 0.48 percent, after having reported first quarter adjusted earnings of C$0.53 per share, which was short of the consensus estimate of C$0.63 per share.

Celestica Inc. (CLS.TO) gained 4.26 percent, with the company reporting first quarter adjusted earnings of $0.19, per share which missed the consensus estimate of $0.22 per share.

On the economic front, Canadian wholesale sales fell to their lowest level in 6 months. Sales declined by 0.4 percent in February, according to a report released by Statistics Canada Tuesday morning. Economists were expecting an increase of 0.5 percent.

German investor confidence deteriorated for the first time since October as global weakness and Greece crisis weighed on domestic prospects, survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research, or ZEW, showed Tuesday. The indicator of economic sentiment dropped unexpectedly by 1.5 points to 53.3 in April. Economists had forecast the index to improve to 55.3.

The Eurozone government deficit ratio declined in 2014, while government debt increased from last year, Eurostat reported Tuesday. The government deficit to GDP ratio fell to 2.4 percent in 2014 from 2.9 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, the government debt to GDP ratio increased to 91.9 percent from 90.9 percent a year ago.