Market View

A dip in oil prices weighted on TSX futures. US markets showed optimism as President Joe Biden reached an infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of senators. Gold rose as the US dollar as the infrastructure deal supported an appetite for riskier currencies. The Canadian dollar was 81.38. U.S. S&P500 ended the week up 2.5%, while the TSX ended the week up 0.6%.

It was a relatively calmer week with healthcare adding 4.9%, followed by energy gaining 4.8%. Consumer discretionary and financials added 1.6%, and 1.2%, respectively while technology and telecommunications ended the week flat. REITs gave up 0.8%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier, BlackBerry, and Birchcliff Energy.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• A history of commodity booms and busts, by Jamie Catherwood of Investor Amnesia
• COVID-19 ends longest employment recovery and expansion in CES history, causing unprecedented job losses in 2020, of US Bureau of Labor Statistics
• SPAC(e), authored by Scott Galloway of No Mercy Blog
• Silicon valley thought India was its future, now everything has changed, by Nitish Pahwa of Slate
• Peter Hodson: These are the stocks you should hold on to, even if the broader market stumbles, posted on Financial Post

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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Disclosure: Please note that the author does not hold a financial or other interest in stocks or funds mentioned.