Market View

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to shock the global oil supply which pushed Brent over $130 this week before retrieving. The US banned Russian oil and gas and mentioned the possibility of replacing the supply with sources like Venezuela and Iran. Canada added 336,600 jobs in February, crushing estimates of 127,500. The unemployment rate fell a full percentage point to 5.5 percent. The US dollar hit a five-year high, while gold prices reflect a resistance level. The Canadian dollar was 78.65 cents USD. U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 1.9%, while the TSX also ended the week up 0.6%.

In a reversal of last week, all sectors but one ended the week in green. Consumer staples gained nearly 3.4%, while materials and utilities added 2.3% and 1.6%, respectively. Financials and energy edged up by less than 1%. Technology, however, gave up 1.4% this week. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Mountain Province Diamonds, Cenovus Energy, and B2Gold Corp.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• The rich list: The 21^st annual ranking of the highest-earning Hedge Fund Managers, by Stephen Taub of Institutional Investor
• 5i Screener: Canadian stocks exposed to Russia, by Moez Mahrez of 5i Research
• European natural gas imports, by Georg Zachmann, Giovanni Sgaravatti, and Ben McWilliams of Bruegel
• Shameful Behavior ignored (ARK), authored by Jeff Troutner of Equius
• Five reasons the (Russian) sanctions are working, written by Alan Cole of Full Stack Economics

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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