The Canadian stock market is gaining ground in early trade Thursday. Gold and mining stocks are leading the way higher as gold prices attempt to rebound from yesterday's weakness. Copper and platinum prices are also on the rise this morning. Energy stocks are also among the gainers, as crude oil prices appear to have stabilized around $45 a barrel.
The Conference Board of Canada downgraded Canada's economic forecast this morning. The CBoC expects the Canadian economy to grow by just 1.4 percent in 2016, a downgrade from the 1.6 percent forecast in the previous outlook.
"The wildfires that damaged much of Fort McMurray and the surrounding areas, a weakening global economy, and the ongoing and significant deterioration in business investment have dimmed the growth outlook for Canada."
Markets in Europe are turning in a mixed performance Thursday. The markets continue to fluctuate between modest gains and losses in choppy trading. The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged in its first policy session after "Brexit", as euro area policymakers wait for more data to assess the exact depth of the impact of the historic event.
Markets in the United States are barely changed in early trade Thursday. Traders continue to sift through a large number of corporate financial reports this morning and to digest today's statements from the ECB. U.S. economic data proved mixed this morning and there is no data to look forward to on Friday.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 54.26 points or 0.37 percent at 14,587.83.
On Wednesday, the index closed up 8.96 points or 0.06 percent, at 14,533.57. The index scaled an intraday high of 14,567.35 and a low of 14,484.60.
The Gold Index is higher by 2.76 percent. Gold prices are flat Thursday morning after the European Central Bank stood pat on interest rates.
Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) is climbing 2.88 percent and Kinross Gold (K.TO) is increasing 3.88 percent. Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) is advancing 3.20 percent and Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) is gaining 3.87 percent. IAMGOLD (IMG.TO) is rising 4.83 percent and B2Gold (BTO.TO) is up 4.52 percent. Goldcorp (G.TO) is also higher by 1.02 percent.
The Capped Materials Index is also up 1.89 percent. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) is rising 1.33 percent and Franco-Nevada (FNV.TO) is gaining 0.16 percent. Silver Wheaton (SLW.TO) is adding 1.81 percent.
The Diversified Metal and Mining Index is advancing 2.64 percent. HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO) is increasing 2.16 percent and First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) is higher by 4.80 percent. Teck Resources (TCK-B.TO) is gaining 4.29 percent and Lundin Mining (LUN.TO) is adding 1.90 percent. Capstone Mining (CS.TO) is up 3.41 percent and Sherritt International (S.TO) is climbing 1.14 percent.
The Capped Telecommunication Services Index is up 1.27 percent. BCE (BCE.TO) is increasing 0.19 percent and Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO) is gaining 0.10 percent. TELUS (T.TO) is advancing 0.23 percent.
Rogers Communication (RCI-B.TO) is climbing 4.42 percent after earnings for its second quarter rose 4 percent compared to the same period last year.
The Energy Index is up 0.74 percent. Crude oil prices are near unchanged levels this morning, hovering around $45 a barrel.
Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO) is higher by 0.91 percent and Suncor Energy (SU.TO) is rising 0.31 percent. Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) is increasing 0.10 percent.
Encana (ECA.TO) is surging 8.63 percent after it reported a smaller quarterly loss, helped by aggressive cost-cutting measures. The company said it will raise its 2016 capital expenditure program by $200-million.
The Capped Healthcare Index is gaining 0.10 percent. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX.TO) is climbing 0.06 percent and Extendicare (EXE.TO) is adding 0.37 percent.
The Capped Information Technology Index is climbing 0.02 percent. Sierra Wireless (SW.TO) is increasing 0.75 percent and BlackBerry (BB.TO) is advancing 1.81 percent.
The Capped Industrials Index is falling 0.26 percent. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) is decreasing 1.00 percent and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) is down 0.09 percent. Air Canada (AC.TO) is losing 0.96 percent.
Precision Drilling Corp. (PD.TO) reported Thursday that its second-quarter net loss was wider than last year's net loss. However, However, CEO Kevin Neveu predicted better results ahead. The stock is dipping 0.16 percent.
On the economic front, Canadian wholesale sales rose more-than-expected in May, official data showed on Thursday. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian wholesale sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent, which was above expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent.
French manufacturing confidence improved slightly in July, survey results from the statistical office Insee showed Thursday. The manufacturing confidence index rose unexpectedly to 103 in July from 102 in June. It was forecast to fall to 101.
British retail sales declined more than expected in June, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. Retail sales volume including auto fuel fell 0.9 percent month-on-month in June, offsetting a 0.9 percent rise in May. This was the biggest fall seen so far this year and larger than the expected fall of 0.6 percent.
The U.K. budget deficit narrowed in June, the Office for National Statistics reported Thursday. Public sector net borrowing decreased GBP 2.2 billion from prior year to GBP 7.8 billion in June. It was below the expected level of GBP 9.5 billion.
Initial jobless claims in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a slight drop in the week ended July 16th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said jobless claims edged down to 253,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 254,000.
The small decline in jobless claims came as a surprise to economists, who had expected claims to climb to 265,000.
Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in the month of July, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revealed in a report on Thursday. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index of current activity dropped to a negative 2.9 in July from a positive 4.7 in June, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in regional manufacturing activity.
The notable decrease by the Philly Fed Index came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to inch up to a positive 5.0.
Reflecting a greater share of sales to first-time buyers, the National Association of Realtors released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected increase in U.S. existing home sales in the month of June. NAR said existing home sales climbed 1.1 percent to an annual rate of 5.57 million in June from a downwardly revised 5.51 million in May.
Economists had expected existing home sales to dip to 5.48 million from the 5.53 million originally reported for the previous month.
After reporting an unexpected decline in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a rebound by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of June. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.3 percent in June after edging down by 0.2 percent in May. The increase by the index matched economist estimates.
In commodities, crude oil futures for August delivery are down 0.15 or 0.33 percent at $45.60 a barrel.
Natural gas for August is up 0.004 or 0.15 percent at $2.662per million btu.
Gold futures for August are up $2.20 or 0.17 percent at $1,321.50 an ounce.
Silver for September is down $0.088 or 0.45 percent at $19.525 an ounce.
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