Market View

All eyes were on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this past Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve indicated that it will be doubling the pace of tapering and are expecting three rate hikes in 2022. North American indices witnessed a lot of volatility this past week. Gold prices increased, while oil prices dipped. The Canadian dollar was 77.88 cents USD. U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 2.1%, and the TSX declined by 0.9% on the week.

Most sectors declined this past week, with energy falling 6.5%, technology decreasing by 3.4%, and healthcare dropping by 0.7%. Consumer staples increased by 2.0% materials rose by 2.8% on the week, and utilities are up 3.1%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were BCE Inc., Kinross Gold, and Barrick Gold Corporation.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Fed Focused on Getting Back Toward Neutral, authored by Allison Boxer and Tiffany Wilding of PIMCO
• The Great Bifurcation by Ben Thompson of Stratechery
• U.S. Tech Giants Could Become 'Supernovas' by Jessica Hamlin of Institutional Investor 
• What Happened to 2021's Biggest Thrill-Rides for Investors? by The Accumulator of Monevator
• Top 5 Stocks: What Does This Mean? by Barry Ritholtz of The Big Picture

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

Disclosure: The analyst(s) responsible for this report do not have a financial or other interest in securities mentioned.