Market View

Concerns over US Fed tapering, rising inflation, and the delta variant weighed on major North American indices. European markets await ECB policy decisions while the Chinese regulatory crackdown pushed Asian equities into the red. The US dollar weakened pushing up gold prices, while oil prices trended lower following Hurricane Ida. The Canadian dollar was 79.37. U.S. S&P500 ended the week down 1.0%, while the TSX ended the week down 0.7%.

It was a week of more reds than greens. Healthcare slid by 5.6%, followed by consumer staples, which declined 1.3%. Telecommunications gave up 1.3%, while energy slipped 1.1%. Technology added 0.7%. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Green Organic Dutchman, NexGen Energy, and Nevada Copper.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

• How the pandemic turned humble shipping containers into the hottest items on the planet, by Julia Horowitz of CNN Business
• Most stocks are duds, posted by Robin Powell of Evidence Investor
• The one thing successful private equity firms have in common, authored by Ted Seides of the Institutional Investor
• Inequality, interest rates, aging, and the role of Central Banks (US-focused study), written by Matthew Klein of the Overshoot
• Biden’s SEC is ready to regulate cryptocurrency, authored by Sara Morrison of Vox

Happy Reading & Stay Safe!

Disclosure: Please note that the author does not hold a financial or other interest in stocks or funds mentioned.