Energy and materials stocks driving TSX, says expert

The TSX has continued to climb above January lows, says Prab Sagoo, associate director at Nasdaq Advisory Services, in his weekly market commentary. The exchange was siting at +20%, as of Friday, and is still outpacing other major global benchmarks.

Its current gains are mainly driven by both energy and materials names, he adds, with the Small Cap Index sitting at about +17% year-to-date.

Read: Once again, it’s gold’s time to shine

More highlights

• If the TSX’s gains continue to hold,we could see the 50-day moving average surpass the 200-day moving average for the first time since early 2015 – a technically bullish indicator. Read: BoC’s optimism signals opportunities for equities
• This week, we have a slew of significant economic data releases. Domestically, we’ll get a look at GDP, and employment and industrial pricing data. GDP will be of particular interest, given the sharp jump in retail sales recently. Read: Snapshot: Canadian economic data
• Internationally, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, and a Bank of Japan announcement is due on Thursday.
• Short bets against TSX Composite stocks rose by 3%, on average, in the first half of April, even though the overall trend has been decreasing bearish sentiment against Canadian stocks–short bets against the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (a large cap proxy) also stabilized. Read: Use futures for commodities plays

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.