Category: Equity Leaders Weekly

Changing sentiment and expectations can be clearly seen in this week’s changes in the SIA Charts Asset Class Rankings. Commodities has jumped up to 1st place, resource-sensitive CAD Equity is steady in 2nd place, while US and International Equity have dropped down in the rankings. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at recent broad-based strength in the Canadian Dollar and at the implications of a breakdown in the Russell 2000.

The arrival of May has brought renewed interest in stocks and particularly commodities, with catchup/reopening plays and small caps attracting particular attention. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at recent strength in the prices of oil and rice, and what that means for markets.

The coming week brings another flurry of results from companies on both sides of the border, with a particular focus on the energy, pharmaceutical, insurance, movie theatre, ride-sharing, travel, automotive, and forest products sectors. The turn of the month also brings a number of key economic reports including Manufacturing and Service PMI surveys from around the world and North American employment reports. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at recent strength in the NASDAQ Composite and in the Canadian Dollar.

The first week of earnings season has been somewhat odd. Overall, initial results have been coming in significantly stronger than expected, but the reaction has been somewhat mixed. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at resurgences in International Equities and in the price of Gold.

While investors have been patiently waiting for the start of earnings season, equities have continued to be well supported. Just about every day in the last week, one or both of the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500 has closed at an all-time record, while the NASDAQ Composite has started to rebound from a late winter correction. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at recent action in the NASDAQ Composite Index and the iShares US Financials ETF for insights into the state of investor sentiment.

It’s a relatively quiet week for equity markets in what could be the calm before the storm as investors mark time waiting for the start of earnings season which kicks off next Wednesday-Thursday with results from several big banks and brokerages in the US, plus some of Canada’s media companies. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we take a look at two commodity markets which don’t usually attract attention from investors but have started to recently, steel and uranium.

A flurry of news is due over the next few days including more manufacturing PMI reports today. US nonfarm payrolls come out on tomorrow’s Good Friday holiday so their impact may influence trading more on Monday, and service PMI reports are due early next week. Earnings season doesn’t start for another couple of weeks, but we are into confession season which has been quiet so far. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we take a look at two sectors which have been on the rebound lately, real estate and semiconductors.

In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at the relationship between small cap and large cap stocks as an indicator of market sentiment, and at recent swings in the price of crude oil as a proxy for commodities and their implications for interest rates and equity markets.

Some of the fear that gripped certain equity market sectors appears to have eased over the last few days. Although the rise in traded interest rates which rattled some traders earlier this month has continued, statements from central bankers in recent days have indicated that they expect inflation to remain contained, and their current stimulus programs to continue at current levels in North America and to increase in Europe. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we take a look at what the Sector Scopes feature in SIA Charts is telling us about investor confidence and capital rotation between equity market sectors, and at a recent breakout by the homebuilding sector.

Trading action across equity markets has been choppy this week as investors grapple with the implications of increased speculation that the easy money party of the last year could start to wind down, and what a potentially reopening economy over the next 6-9 months could mean for the relative outlook of varying sectors. In this issue of Equity Leaders Weekly, we look at energy and technology ETFs as indicators of changing relative strength and tactical capital rotation between sectors as leadership changes.