July 2013 Market Recap
Third quarter starts off strong The third quarter started off well with gains in both stocks and bonds. Worries over higher interest rates took a back seat to improving economic fundamentals both at home and abroad. In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 3.2%, led by strong gains in gold companies, consumer staples and financials. Gold rallied by more than 7.3% on expectations that...
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Traders spooked by prospect of early end of QE3 I think a lot of the last few weeks have been an overreaction to the true situation. U.S, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke only said that he will be slowing down bond purchases (which we already knew) and would base that slowdown on economic statistics (which we already knew). The only thing that sort of came as a surprise is that he expects to meet the...
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Fed Uncertainty Pushes Yields Higher Bond yields moved sharply higher across the board on rumours that the U.S. Federal Reserve would be ending their massive quantitative easing plans sooner than many had expected. Yields on the benchmark ten year government bonds rose on these rumblings, with the Canadian ten year moving from 1.69% to 2.06%, and the U.S. ten year rose to 2.16% from 1.87%. This...
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Global Markets Rally Sharply Higher Global equities continued their impressive streak of gains while Canadian equities were lower thanks to continuing weakness in the materials and energy sectors. The S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.95% in Canadian dollar terms. The star of the month was the MSCI EAFE Index gaining 4.43%, besting all other major...
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Q1 Rewards Investors with Strong Gains The first quarter of 2013 rewarded investors, as global equity markets surged higher. The U.S. led the way with the S&P 500 rising by nearly 13%, finishing at a record high. International equities were also strong, as the MSCI EAFE Index and MSCI World Index rose by 7.4% and 10.1% respectively. Were it not for the rise in the Canadian dollar, these...
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Investors Rewarded Despite Mixed Signals February was another profitable month for investors with all major equity and fixed income markets moving higher. In Canada, the S&P / TSX Composite Index gained 1.3% on the month. U.S. equities were higher with the S&P 500 gaining 1.4% in U.S. dollar terms. For Canadian investors, the gain was amplified, as the Canadian dollar dropped from...
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