Market View

US consumer confidence deteriorated meaningfully in February due to worries about surging inflation and tariffs, marking the biggest decline since August 2021, which fell to 98.3 compared to the consensus estimate of 102.5. On the other hand, the U.S. National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index dropped 4.6% in January, the lowest level in the last five years, as high mortgage rates lead to fewer buyers. The Canadian dollar was 69.32 cents USD. The U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 2.6%, while the TSX was down 0.8%. 

Another week of greens and reds mixed. Consumer staples rose 3.7%, while consumer discretionary gained 1.8%. Real estate industrials added 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. On the other hand, energy gave up 3.8%, while technology slid by 3.5%. Materials edged lower by 1.4%, and financials ended the week slightly down 0.3%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), and Suncor Energy (SU).

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• How Should Your Allocation Change With Age?, published by Nick Maggiulli of Of Dollars and Data
• 15 Stocks That Have Destroyed the Most Shareholder Value Over the Past Decade, by Amy C. Arnott of Morningstar.
• The Top 10%, written by Ben Carlson of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC
• Microsoft Outsources OpenAI’s Ambitions to SoftBank, published by M.G. Siegler of Spyglass
• 3 Levels of Retirement Readiness: Where Do You Stand?, published by The Retirement Manifesto

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

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