Market View

South of the border, a mixed bag of corporate earnings, a gloomy outlook from the big banks, and a slowing economy weighed on the short rally seen so far this year. Canada’s annual inflation rate cooled to 6.3% in December, its lowest since February 2022. According to Statistics Canada, the deceleration in the cost of living was mostly driven by a 13% decrease in the price of gasoline, its biggest one-month plunge since April 2020. Grocery prices, however, continue to rise. Both the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada are expected to increase interest rates this month. Oil prices rose on rising Chinese demand, while gold prices steadied. The Canadian dollar was 74.56 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 0.3%, while the TSX was up 0.6%.

Most sectors ended the week flat. Energy gained 3.5% this week, followed by healthcare and technology, both of which gained 2.0%, each. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Hut 8 Mining, Wesdome Gold Mines, and Algonquin Power & Utilities.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• RIP Meme stocks, you were terrible investments, by James Surowiecki of Fast Company
• Buffett profile from 1979: ‘The investor’s investor’, authored by Frederik Gieschen of Neckar’s Minds and Markets
• Why does private equity get to play make-believe with prices? By Cliff Asness of Institutional Investor
• Data spotlight: Commodity prices, published on Fisher Investments
• 5 unintended consequences of the EV revolution, written by Rebecca Heilweil of Vox

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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