Market View

Major North American indices saw positive momentum this week after a dim month. Statistics Canada said there were more than one million job vacancies at the start of April, the second straight month with more than one million unfilled positions. The US dollar slipped, while gold prices edged up. The Canadian dollar was 77.49 cents USD. U.S. S&P500 ended the week up 6.1%, while the TSX also ended the week up 0.3%.

It was a mixed bag this week. Healthcare rose 11%, followed by a strong rebound in technology, which gained 9.0%. Consumer discretionary added 3.0%, while consumer staples edged up 2.4%. Materials and energy ended the week down 4.5% and 3.6%, respectively. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Argonaut Gold, Athabasca Oil Corp, and Baytex Energy.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Why broader portfolio diversification has finally started paying off, authored by Amy Arnott of Morningstar
• ‘Buy the dip’ is not a strategy, published by The Onveston Letter
• Are TIPS broken? By Adam Collins of Eversight Wealth
• Not financial advice, posted on Young Money by Jack Raines
• Six things that might go right, by Justin Carbonneau of Validea

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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