Market View

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by the expected 0.75% on Wednesday, bringing the target for the federal funds rate to 2.25-2.5%. The less-than-hawkish tone of Powell led to a rally for stocks. The US dollar showed weakness during the week while gold prices and oil prices gained. The Canadian dollar was 78.04 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 and TSX ended the week up 3.6%, each.

All but two sectors ended the week in green. Energy gained 9.3%, followed by industrials and materials, both of which added 5.2%. Utilities and financials rose by 2.7% and 2.6%, respectively. Healthcare slid by 12.2%, while technology ended the week down under 1.0%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were UEX Corp, Athabasca Oil Corp, and Crescent Point Energy.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Recession: medicine that’s worse than the disease, posted on Stay-At-Home Macro by Claudia Sahm
• Is there a case for a return of disinflation/deflation? By James Picerno of Capital Spectator
• The US GDP report may have showed a decline, but it’s not a recession, authored by Preston Caldwell of Morningstar
• More Hemingway, less Faulkner, by Rubin Miller of Fortunes and Frictions
• These charts explain Walmart’s stunning profit warning, published on TKer by Sam Ro

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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