Market View

After a wild US political climate, major US indices hit record levels as investors hoped for an extended US stimulus package. The latest rounds of global lockdown weighed on fuel sales, however, oil prices hit an 11-month high after Saudi Arabia promises to cut output. US dollar and US treasury yield rose, suppressing gold downwards. The Canadian dollar was 78.73. U.S. S&P500 ended the week up 0.8%, while the TSX ended the week up 2.1%.

All sectors except materials rose in the first week of 2021. Healthcare rose the most by 12.0%, followed by energy 8.2%, and industrials 3.8%. Consumer discretionary gained 2.5%, and financials were up 1.4%. Materials slipped 1.4%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Nevada Copper Corp, Hut 8 Mining Corp, and Zenabis Global.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• These are the five themes investors should pay attention to in 2021, written by Peter Hodson, posted on the Financial Post
• 20 rules for markets and investing – 2020 edition, by Charlie Bilello of Compound Advisors
• ETFs in Pictures 2020, written by Nate Geraci of the ETF Educator
• Byron Wien and Joe Zidle announce the ten surprises of 2021, published by Blackstone
• How a weekly twitter poll crushed the S&P500 in 2021, by Myles Udland and posted on Yahoo Finance

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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Disclosure: Please note that the author does not hold a financial or other interest in stocks or funds mentioned.