TSX Ends Slightly Lower On U.S. Fed Minutes - Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks ended lower Wednesday, driven largely by dropping commodity prices and tracking broadly declining global stocks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program intact with hints that tapering of its asset-purchase program may begin early next year.

In some encouraging economic news, retail sales in the U.S. rose more than expected in October, partly due to a rebound in auto sales, a report from the Commerce Department showed Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. consumer prices in October dipped unexpectedly, with energy prices registering a notable decrease.

On the negative side, existing home sales in the U.S. fell for a second consecutive month in October, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday. Meanwhile, business inventories in the U.S. rose more than expected in September, a Commerce Department report revealed.

Although the Federal Reserve maintained its bond-buying level, the minutes from the October meeting released Wednesday showed the central bank debated whether to mark a calendar date to end its massive bond-buying plan, with analysts reading it as sooner than later.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Wednesday at 13,430.01, down 12.76 points or 0.09 percent. The index touched an intraday high of 13,459.95 and a low of 13,387.29.

Crude oil prices ended a shade lower Wednesday, after the official Energy Information Administration's weekly oil report showed U.S. crude stockpiles to have increased last week, albeit less than what analysts expected.

The Energy Information Administration in its weekly oil report revealed U.S. crude oil inventories to have gained 0.40 million barrels with gasoline stocks shedding 0.30 million barrels in the week ended November 15. Analysts expected crude oil inventories to rise 0.70 million barrels last week.

The Energy Index inched up 0.01 percent, with U.S. crude oil futures for January delivery, the most actively traded contract, dipping $0.04 to close at $93.85 a barrel Wednesday on the Nymex.

Among energy stocks, Imperial Oil Limited (IMO.TO) slipped 0.41 percent, while Encana Corp. (ECA.TO) added 1.75 percent. Suncor Energy Inc. (SU.TO) added 1.42 percent, while Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) rose 2.45 percent.

The Information Technology Index slipped 0.24 percent, with smartphone maker BlackBerry Limited (BB.TO) up 0.48 percent.

The Diversified Metals & Mining Index shed 0.51 percent, with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.TO) dropping 1.19 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.TO) dipping 0.46 percent. Teck Resources (TCK_B.TO) surrendered 0.74 percent.

The Capped Materials Index was sharply down 2.16 percent, with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT.TO) surrendering 1.27 percent.

Gold futures plummeted to end at a four-month low Wednesday, as the dollar turned higher against some major currencies after some mixed economic data out of the U.S.

The Global Gold Index plunged 3.71 percent, with gold futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, plunging $15.50 or 1.2 percent to close at $1,258.00 an ounce Wednesday on the Nymex.

Among gold stocks, Yamana Gold Inc. (YRI.TO) dropped 2.07 percent, while Goldcorp Inc. (G.TO) shed 3.16 percent. Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) slipped 4.25 percent, while Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.TO) surrendered 3.90 percent.

The Financial Index added 0.09 percent with Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) up 0.19 percent, while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) shed 0.06 percent. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) gained 0.39 percent, while Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) added 0.25 percent.

The Capped Industrials Index shed 0.12 percent, with Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.TO, BBD.B.TO) down 0.43 percent.

Real estate services provider Gazit-Globe (GZT.TO) lost 4.23 percent after reporting that its third-quarter Funds From Operations increased to $42 million from $40 million in the same quarter last year. But FFO per share declined to $0.23 from $0.24 last year.

In economic news Statistics Canada said wholesale sales were up for a third straight month in September, rising 0.2 percent to $49.8 billion. Sales increased in four of the seven sub-sectors, accounting for 45 percent of wholesale sales.

In economic news from the U.S, the Labor Department said its consumer price index edged down by 0.1 percent in October after rising 0.2 percent in September. Economists, however, expected the index to come in unchanged. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, inched up by 0.1 percent for the third straight month, while economists expected core prices to rise by 0.2 percent.

Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in October, while revised data showed sales were unchanged in September. Economists expected retail sales to edge up 0.1 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales dropped 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.12 million units in October after sliding 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.29 million units in September. Economists expected sales to decline to an annual rate of 5.13 million units. Notwithstanding the second straight monthly decrease, existing home sales remain 6.0 percent higher than the 4.83 million-unit level in October 2012.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Commerce Department said business inventories increased 0.6 percent in September after rising 0.4 percent in August. Economists expected inventories to increase by about 0.3 percent. Retail inventories jumped 0.9 percent, while inventories at both manufacturers and merchant wholesalers rose by 0.4 percent. The Commerce Department also said business sales edged up by 0.2 percent in September following a 0.3 percent increase in August.

From the eurozone, Germany's producer prices declined for the third successive month in October, and at a faster pace than expected by economists, latest data showed. The industrial producer price index declined 0.7 percent on an annual basis in October, following the 0.5 percent drop in September, the Federal Statistical Office said. Prices have fallen for the third month in a row, while economists forecast a slower decline of 0.6 percent for October.

Elsewhere, the Bank of England policymakers unanimously decided to retain the record-low interest rate and the asset purchase program at GBP 375 billion, minutes of the meeting revealed. All nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to retain the interest rate at 0.50 percent at the meeting held on November 6 and 7.