The Canadian stock market is declining in early trade Thursday. The majority of Canadian sectors are trading in the red and gold stocks are among the weakest performers. Global markets are turning in a weak performance due to uncertainty about the future of U.S. monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve offered no clarity on when it intends to raise interest rates after it concluded its policy meeting yesterday afternoon. The Fed removed any calendar-based references from its monetary policy statement yesterday afternoon, leaving traders with few clues about whether tightening will begin this summer, or anytime this year for that matter.
Markets In Europe are trading modestly to the downside Thursday. A strengthening euro, mixed economic reports and earnings have dampened investor sentiment. German retail sales unexpectedly declined for a second straight month in March.
Markets in the United States are also under pressure this morning. Economic data has proved mixed this morning. Weekly jobless claims dropped by more than expected, but personal income and spending fell short of expectations.
In an upbeat sign for the labor market, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back to their lowest level in fifteen years in the week ended April 25th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped to 262,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised level of 296,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 288,000 from the 295,000 originally reported for the previous week.
While the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a continued increase in U.S. personal spending in the month of March, the report also said personal income was unexpectedly flat.
The report said personal spending rose by 0.4 percent in March following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in February. Economists had expected spending to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal income inched up by less than a tenth of a percent in March after increasing by 0.4 percent in February. Income had been expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
Pointing to a positive start to the second quarter, MNI Indicators released a report on Thursday showing a substantial rebound in Chicago-area business activity in the month of April. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer jumped to 52.3 in April from 46.3 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating an expansion. Economists had expected the barometer to climb to 50.0.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 106.51 points or 0.69 percent at 15,240.83.
On Thursday, the index closed up 1.27 points or 0.01 percent, at 15,347.34. The index scaled an intraday high of 15,363.79 and a low of 15,242.10.
The Gold Index is sinking by 2.55 percent, as the price of the yellow metal has turned lower. Gold prices turned lower after U.S. weekly jobless claims dropped to a 15-year low.
Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is losing 3.39 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is down 1.96 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is lower by 2.06 percent. Kinross Gold (K.TO) is declining by 2.04 percent and IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is dropping by 5.99 percent.
Goldcorp (G.TO) is decreasing by 5.62 percent, after its first quarter adjusted EPS sank to $0.01 from $0.26 in the prior year. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.10.
The Capped Materials Index is also lower by 1.95 percent. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is declining by 3.03 percent and Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is down 0.66 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is falling by 2.95 percent and Agrium (AGU.TO) is losing 1.10 percent.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT.TO) is decreasing by 1.38 percent. The company reported first quarter EPS of $0.44, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company also slashed its full year 2015 profit forecast.
The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is rising by 0.12 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is rising by 1.63 percent and Teck Resources (TCK-A.TO) is increasing by 0.26 percent. Capstone Mining (CS.TO) is higher by 2.45 percent.
Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is surging by 7.73 percent. The company reported first quarter EPS of $0.10, up from $0.02 in the prior year period.
The Energy Index is decreasing by 1.03 percent. Crude oil prices have turned lower after hitting a 5-month high.
Encana (ECA.TO) decreasing by 0.82 percent and Crescent Point Energy (CPG.TO) is lower by 1.28 percent. Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) is declining by 1.56 percent and Legacy Oil + Gas (LEG.TO) is down 0.36 percent.
Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is losing 0.75 percent, after it reported a first quarter loss of C$0.24. The company posted a profit of C$1.01 in the previous year.
The heavyweight Financial Index is down 0.72 percent. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is falling by 0.32 percent and Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) losing by 0.82 percent. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) is declining by 0.22 percent and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) is lower by 0.86 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) decreasing by 0.79 percent.
Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) is lower by 0.69 percent, after it CEO Mark Furlong has decided to retire effective June 1, 2015.
The Capped Information Technology Index is sinking by 1.21 percent. Descartes Systems Group (DSG.TO) is down 0.77 percent and Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is falling by 1.86 percent. BlackBerry (BB.TO) is declining by 0.24 percent.
Constellation Software (CSU.TO) is lower by 1.53 percent. The company reported first quarter EPS of $1.55, compared to $0.42 a year ago.
The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is falling by 0.69 percent. TELUS (T.TO) is decreasing by 1.23 percent. BCE is down 0.85 percent after it reported first quarter EPS of $0.84, vs. $0.81 last year.
The Capped Industrials Index is declining by 0.73 percent. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is falling by 0.61 percent and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is losing 0.72 percent. AutoCanada (ACQ.TO) is down 3.60 percent and Air Canada (AC.TO) is decreasing by 2.88 percent.
The Capped Health Care Index is climbing by 0.52 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is surging by 3.86 percent, after yesterday's first quarter earnings report. Catamaran (CCT.TO) is up 0.88 percent.
On the economic front, Canadian real GDP came in unchanged in February, according to a report released this morning by Statistics Canada. Economists had expected a decrease of 0.1 percent.
Statistics Canada also reported that Canadian average weekly employee earnings increased by 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in February.
Eurozone unemployment rate remained unchanged for a second straight month in March, at its lowest level in nearly three years, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Thursday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 11.3 percent, unchanged from both February and January. Economists had forecast a decline in the rate to 11.2 percent.
Eurozone consumer prices remained flat in April as expected by economists after falling for four consecutive months, flash data from Eurostat showed Thursday. Consumer prices dropped 0.1 percent in March and 0.3 percent in February.
Germany's retail sales unexpectedly declined for a second straight month in March, preliminary figures from the statistical office Destatis showed Thursday. Retail sales fell a calendar-and-seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent from February, when they dropped 0.1 percent. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent gain for March. The latest decrease was the biggest in more than a year.
German unemployment declined less than expected in April, the Federal Labor Agency reported Thursday. The number of people out of work declined by seasonally adjusted 8,000 to 2.79 million in April. It was forecast to fall by 15,000.
France's consumer spending declined for the first time in five months in March and at a faster than expected pace, mainly due to a slump in energy consumption, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday. Household consumption of goods dropped 0.6 percent from February, when they grew 0.2 percent, which was revised up from 0.1 percent. Economists were looking for a 0.5 percent fall.
France's producer prices continued to decline in March, figures from the statistical office INSEE showed Thursday. Producer prices for the French market fell 2.2 percent year-over-year in March, but slower than previous month's 2.6 percent decline.
In commodities, crude oil futures for June delivery are up $0.39 or 0.67 percent at $58.97 a barrel.
Natural gas for May is down $0.028 or 1.07 percent at $2.578 per million btu.
Gold futures for June are down $30.10 or 2.49 percent at $1,179.90 an ounce.
Silver for May is down $0.76 or 4.56 percent at $15.91 an ounce.
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