The Wrap-up – Market Commentary

Good afternoon,

The TSX reversed a string of weekly losses with a modest gain last week. Energy and financials were volatile and mixed respectively, with the price of oil losing more than 4% for the week.

Over the course of the first quarter of 2017, Canada’s economy grew by 3.7% over Q1 2016, the fastest growing economy in the G7, and Canadian exports grew to record levels during April 2017. It is positive news that our economy has experienced growth given the low oil prices.

A short week in the United States with Monday’s celebration of Memorial Day didn’t slow down American indices as the NASDAQ, the Dow, and the S&P 500 all exhibited gains. Based on strong economic indicators, the markets leapt ahead again with a broad-based advance across multiple sectors. The negative news came from U.S. monthly employment numbers which saw fewer than expected jobs created in May (138,000), however the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, its lowest rate in more than 15 years! These two numbers together suggest that filling open job postings with qualified applicants may be an emerging issue.

This week in Canada, the significant economic data to be released which is of great interest to virtually everyone, is house prices, housing starts, and building permits. It will be interesting to see if the government policies put in place to slow the rising cost of homes is working.

We are still a couple weeks away from the official start to summer, however the warm weather has already taken hold of us on the prairies.  I hope everyone is enjoying the heat!

Kevin

 

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