Market View

The Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 47.8 from 51.6 in January, the first drop below 50.0 since August, indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. On the other hand, oil dropped to $68 per barrel, the lowest level this year, as the OPEC+ decided to restart some previously halted production, potentially flooding the market with surplus oil. The Canadian dollar was 69.7 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 1.7%, while the TSX was down 2.0%.

Another week of greens and reds mixed. Consumer staples rose 3.7%, while consumer discretionary gained 1.8%. Real estate industrials added 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. On the other hand, energy gave up 3.8%, while technology slid by 3.5%. Materials edged lower by 1.4%, and financials ended the week slightly down 0.3%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Great-West Lifeco (GWO), Shopify (SHOP) and Suncor Energy (SU).

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Predicting a Financial Crisis, published by Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC
• Retail traders may have finally given up on buying the dip, written by Matt Phillips of Sherwood News
• Scams, Damn Scams, and Investors, published by Nick Maggiulli of Of Dollars and Data
• How Much is the U.S. Housing Market Worth?, written by Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC
• Short-term vs. long-term investors, written by Joachim Klement of Klement on Investing

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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