Flat markets await vote tally

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Markets closed flat Friday as Joe Biden’s Democrats sat on the verge of winning the U.S. presidential election. Biden was fractionally leading several battleground states as American election officials continue to count votes. The Dow closed -0.24%, though the S&P closed a few points in the red while the Nasdaq finished a few points in the green. The election rally gave the S&P its best week since April while the Nasdaq gained 9%. Investors piled back into big tech after shunning good earnings last week.

FAANGs modestly gave back this week’s gains, like Apple down 0.11%, though Alibaba popped 4.24%. Also, T-Mobile enjoyed a 5.37% after delivering a Q3 earnings beat. The Dow components were mixed, though financials and energy lagged. Chevron slipped 1.37% as the price of WTI fell 3.5%. Anticipating a Biden win, investors continue to gobble up pot stocks. Canopy Growth on the Nasdaq leapt nearly 11% while Aurora rocketed 56% on Friday. Fueling some positive sentiment was an unexpectedly U.S. strong jobs report for October as the unemployment rate slipped to 6.9% instead of the predicted 7.7%. However, the U.S. reported 121,000 Covid infections Thursday, a new record that broke just the previous day’s record.

The TSX closed -0.09%, as staples and tech rallied while energy tumbled. As on Wall Street, pot stocks surged on Bay Street. Again, Aurora led as the most-traded stock. In contrast, the price of WCS slid nearly 2.5% which didn’t help Pembina. It reported weak Q3 earnings and revenues. Pembina shed 6.3%. Meanwhile, Telus was busy in the headlines, announcing a Q3 earnings miss, but also the purchase of a data services provider. Investors greeted the news positively, nudging the stock up 1.26%. After climbing recently, the Canadian dollar took a breather against the US greenback, at 76.56 cents. The TSX climbed 4.5% for the week.

🍎 Apple -0.11%
🛍 Alibaba Group Holding +4.24%
📱 T-Mobile US +5.37%
🛢 Chevron Texaco -1.37%
🌿 Canopy Growth Corp. +11%
🌿 Aurora Cannabis +56%
🛢 Pembina Pipeline Corp -6.3%
📱 Telus Corp +1.26%