Tag Archives: stock market

S&P 500, Dow, and TSX Surge to Record Highs After Fed’s Big Interest Rate Cut

North American Stocks Surge

The U.S. Federal Reserve made a big splash, announcing an oversized interest rate cut; a move that is expected to have a big impact on U.S. and Canadian financial markets. Over the last 14 months, the Fed held its key lending rate at a two-decade high of between 5.25% and 5.50%. But with inflation winding […]

Stock Market Rebounds, But Smaller U.S. Rate Cut Expected

U.S. Rate Cut Expected

September is living up to its reputation as being one of the worst months for the stock market. After a volatile start to August, which saw the S&P 500 and TSX both tumble more than 5%, North American stocks experienced another big drop in early September after U.S. core inflationary data came in higher than […]

Stocks Are at Record Levels But Still Look Bullish

Broad-Based Stock Market

Last year was supposed to be a difficult one for stocks. It wasn’t. In 2023, the S&P 500 rallied an impressive 24%, the Nasdaq surged 43%, while the TSX registered a return of 8.12%. Heading into 2024, analysts continue to be cautious predicting 5% to 10% gains for the S&P 500. How Will Stocks Perform […]

The Bank of Canada Is Still Concerned About the Health of the Canadian Economy

Canadian Economy

After a year in which the Canadian economy experienced virtually no growth, the economy performed better than expected in the first quarter of 2024, with real gross domestic product (GDP) advancing 1.7% on an annual basis. That’s slower than the median forecast of 2.2% and below the Bank of Canada’s forecast of 2.8%, but it’s […]

Analysts Lift Targets for TSX and S&P 500

TSX and S&P 500

The performance of Canada’s main index, the TSX, and its U.S. counterparts, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, has taken Bay Street and Wall Street by surprise. After a robust 2023, in which the TSX rallied 8.1%, the S&P 500 grew 24.2%, and the Nasdaq advanced an impressive 43.4%, the outlook for 2024 was positive, but […]

The TSX: Too High, Too Fast, Too Soon?

The TSX: Too High, Too Fast, Too Soon?

The TSX, Canada’s main stock market index, is made up of some of the largest companies in the country, so it’s natural to expect the performance of the TSX to track Canada’s economic growth. That’s why investors pay close attention to economic gages like gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, employment levels, consumer spending, and the […]

Remainder of 2023 Looks Bullish After Federal Reserve Pause’s Interest Rates

Federal Reserve Pause’s Interest Rates

Halloween may be over but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still scary on Bay Street and Wall Street. On July 27 the S&P 500 hit a 52-week high of 4,240, putting it up 19.5% year-to-date. The big moves defied logic, with inflation stubbornly high and interest rates still on the rise. But then stocks started […]

Additional Interest Rate Hikes Still on the Table But Canada Is Not Headed for a Recession

Additional Interest Rate Hikes

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said that the central bank’s aggressive interest rate policy is working at bringing down inflation. After raising its key lending rate 10 times since the start of 2022, from 0.25% to 5.0%, Canada’s inflation rate has retraced from a 39-year high of 8.1% in June 2022 to 4.0% today. […]

Inflation Unexpectedly Heats Up in April—Will the Central Bank Raise Rates?

Canada’s Inflation Rate

Statistics Canada surprised the markets when it announced that the country’s inflation rate rose unexpectedly in April to 4.4%. After cooling in March to 4.3%, economists were expecting the inflation rate to continue decelerating to 4.1%. This represents the first increasing in inflation since June 2022, when Canada’s inflation rate hit a more than 40-year […]