Market View

Canada’s annual inflation showed a pickup in February, rising to an annualized pace of 2.6 percent which is higher than expected due to the end of a temporary tax break on GST and HST on some goods. On the other hand, the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent while anticipating two interest cuts in 2025. The Canadian dollar was 69.64 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 ended the week up 2.5%, while the TSX was up 3.5%.

A lot more greens this week than reds. Energy added 5.8%, while financials and materials gained 3.7% each. Technology and consumer staples edged up by 3.2% and 2.5%, respectively, while industrials added 2.2%. Real estate and consumer discretionary ended the week up 1.6%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), National Bank of Canada (NA) and Shopify (SHOP).

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early or Invest?, by Christine Benz of Morningstar.
• How Not to Invest, published by Nick Maggiulli of Of Dollars and Data
• The “most important variable” for a rally that sticks, written by Matt Phillips of Sherwood News
• ‘It’s a Heist’: Real Federal Auditors Are Horrified by DOGE, published by Vittoria Elliott of Wired
• Too Many Active Funds Are Priced to Fail. Should Investors Steer Clear?, by Jeffrey Ptak of Morningstar.
   

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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