Market View

The US consumer price index (CPI) in March came in hotter than expected, a 3.5% annual gain compared to the economist forecast of 3.4%, indicating the June rate cut becomes unlikely. On the other hand, the Bank of Canada held its interest rate steady at 5%, mentioning it needs to see clear evidence that progress on inflation is sustained before any rate cut. The Canadian dollar was 72.9 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 ended the week flat, while the TSX was down 0.3%.

It was a mixed week of greens and reds. Materials rose 3.4%, while energy gained 1.9%. Consumer staples and industrials edged up by 1.0% and 0.5%, respectively. Real estate stayed flat while financials slid by 1.1%, while information technology and consumer discretionary both ended the week down 0.8%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Toronto-Dominion Bank, Crescent Point Energy and Argonaut Gold.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• What Can Commodities Do for You?, by Karen Zaya of Morningstar
• Two Things I’m Not Worried About, written and published by Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC
• Avoiding or Evading?, published by Richard Connor of HumbleDollar
• What Recession? State Coincident Indicators, written by Barry Ritholtz of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC
• European companies are finally buying back their stock, opening up opportunities, written and published by Joachim Klement of MarketWatch

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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