Market View

Bank of Canada kept its interest rates unchanged at 1.75 per cent, and downgraded its forecast for economic growth from 1.7 per cent this year to 1.2 per cent. The Canadian dollar lost half a cent to trade below 74 cents US following the news as a result of the weak outlook. Both S&P500 and Nasdaq touched record highs this week after some major earnings. European shares are marginally up after earnings reported by Credit Suisse and Asian indices remain flat due to China stimulus worries. The Canadian dollar was 74.15 cents and gold prices remained unchanged. U.S. S&P500 was up 0.9% this week and TSX ended the week down 0.4%.

Only four of the twelve subgroups ended in the positive territory this week. Energy slipped the most by 2.4%, followed by telecommunications, which was down by 1.6% and consumer discretionary down 1.1%. Healthcare jumped the highest by 5.6%, followed by Industrials and Technology, both by 0.8%, respectively. Canadian Pacific Railway missed quarterly profit estimates, as the harsh winter impacted its operations. CP earned $2.79 per share, missed estimates of $3.01. Cenovus Energy cut its 2019 oil sands production guidance by seven percent and missed estimates by quite a margin. It reported operating earnings from continuing operations at 6 cents vs estimates of 23 cents. Teck Resources posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, attributing to higher energy business and commodity prices. It reported adjusted profit of 99 cents per share vs estimates of 95 cents per share. The most heavily traded shares by volume were Bombardier, Crescent Point Energy and Hexo Corp.

5 from 5i

Here are five reads we found interesting last week:

-The disconnect between oil prices and energy stocks

-Netflix and monetization of user data

-Apple’s $400 Billion Buyback Program

-How Microsoft has continued winning

-How many stocks should you own in your portfolio

Bonus: What type of investor are you? Your portfolio might not reflect what you think.

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