TSX gains nearly 3% for the week as risk-on sentiment returns
Canada’s benchmark stock index closed 2.85 per cent higher for the week as a risk-on sentiment returned among investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed 187.93 points higher, or 0.94 per cent, to 20,179.81 on Friday. It’s the first time the index has closed above the 20,000-point level since early June.
Canada’s big banks, namely Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, put the most points on the tape.
“We've had a very strong comeback in markets on both sides of the border, really. We were getting pretty depressed towards the end of June and beginning of July. The last four weeks have been a very, very strong snapback and in some ways, they've almost taken on the life of their own where we're continuing to see markets playing, even on the day like today, where there was almost no news out,” said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at SIA Wealth Management, in an interview Friday.
Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist, SIA Wealth Management, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss his outlook on the market and why he is positioning for more volatility ahead.
Throughout the week, investors saw mounting evidence in data such as the U.S. Producer Price Index and U.S. Consumer Price Index that inflation might have peaked – fuelling the view that North American central banks might be able to ease up on their tightening campaigns.
“It's a question now of, is inflation levelling off at a higher level or is it actually starting to come back down. That will still take a few months for us to see what's happening with that. But certainly, the market has taken it on as quite a positive,” Ciesynski said.
Markets in New York ended the Friday trading session on a positive note. The S&P 500 gained 1.73 per cent, the Dow rose 1.27 per cent and the Nasdaq jumped 2.09 per cent.
Meanwhile, Park Lawn Corporation saw its shares drop as much as 10 per cent on Friday after the funeral home and cemetery operator delivered disappointing financial results to investors as a pandemic-era mortality rate normalized. Park Lawn was one of the worst-performing stocks on the TSX.
The September contract for West Texas Intermediate settled US$2.25 lower to US$92.09 per barrel.
The Canadian dollar dipped by a fraction of a cent to 78.31 cents U.S.
