The TSX has undergone a change of fortune over the past day or so.
After a late Thursday-morning dip following hawkish central bank signals, the afternoon saw a bounce back from both the TSX and U.S. indices. This was in part helped along by gains in energy and materials stocks.
The gains continued on Friday, though only moderately, as positive sentiment in energy and materials was balanced against promising jobs data setting the stage for bigger interest rate hikes.
The energy sector climbed 0.8 per cent in early trading, while the materials sector added 1.4 per cent. Technology saw the largest declines, falling 2.4 per cent as investors ditch high-flying growth names for more fundamentally sound companies.
Oil was set for a second weekly retreat in reaction to plans from the U.S. and certain allies to sell almost 250M barrels from strategic reserves. Demand also continues to suffer as China deals with a COVID outbreak that has resulted in lockdowns in major cities.
West Texas Intermediate was down roughly 2.5 per cent as of 1:49 pm EST, while Brent was down 2.3 per cent, with both benchmarks having lost most of their gains since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Though the oil craze has simmered down, inflationary concerns remain elevated as post-COVID momentum and Russian aggression disrupt commodities markets across the world.
Invading forces were reported to have left Kyiv earlier this week – spurring a multitude of war crime allegations to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General – to focus on eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian territories.
To keep prices under control, The Bank of Canada is widely expected to move aggressively higher on rates next week. Recent employment data from Statistics Canada is stoking this sentiment, showing how the jobless rate fell from 5.5 to 5.3 per cent last month, the lowest level since the mid-1970s, with hourly wages outpacing last month’s gains.
Canada added 72,500 jobs in March, slightly below the expected 80,000, with roughly one million jobs added since last June in spite of COVID’s lingering presence.
The Federal Government is also tackling inflation through real estate in its recently tabled 2022 budget led by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. New measures include a two-year ban on foreign companies and individuals from buying investment properties, as well as increased taxes on house flipping and the sale of homes before construction or occupation.
Other noteworthy initiatives from the budget include a Tax-Free First Home Savings Account up to C$40,000, a C$4B Housing Accelerator Fund to support the delivery of new homes, the extension of Transport Canada’s zero-emission vehicles program, and increased taxes on big banks and insurers totalling C$6.1B over the next five years.
The TSX closed up by 0.18 per cent ending flat for the week, though it’s poised to outperform in the near to medium-term as banks benefit from rising rates and commodities producers hike prices and increase revenue.
Bond yields remain on a steeply upward trend over the past month, improving the prospects for income investors forced to venture farther along the risk curve over the past decade.
Market movers
Since Wednesday’s market summary, our readers have honed in on companies demonstrating resilience in the face of rising costs and limited sources of capital:
Tilray subsidiary Manitoba Harvest will debut its Hemp+Matcha and Hemp+Supergreens powders at over 300 Whole Foods Market locations.
Westhaven Gold reported positive drill results from its Shovelnose Gold Property near Merritt, British Columbia.
Finally, Fobi AI signed a one-year agreement with a large U.S. stock exchange.
Some of the Canadian-listed companies announcing capital raises this week include: Angold, CopAur Minerals, BioHarvest and LevelJump.
