Market View

Cryptocurrencies surged this week and the crypto market lifts above $2 trillion. Concerns over Chinese growth and coronavirus cases weighed on North American indices. Oil slipped while the US dollar and gold prices edged up. The Canadian dollar was 77.81. U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 0.7%, while the TSX ended the week down 0.8%. 

Energy slid by 5.5% this week, followed by consumer discretionary, which declined by 2.0%. Healthcare gave up 0.8%, while financial ended the week flat. Consumer staples added 1.3%, and technology edged up 1.1%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Hexo Corp, Nevada Copper, and Sun Life Financial.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Are thematic funds worthy of the hype or a risky distraction? By Ben Johnson of Morningstar
• Why Bitcoin is doomed, posted by Elan Bachman
• E-commerce skyrocketed during the pandemic. Now Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat want in, written by Maria Monteros of Retail Dive
• Learning from honey bees, posted on Investment Masters Class
• The psychology of money – 16 lessons from the FIRE community, published on Money Flamingo

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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