A choppy session ends a choppy week

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The markets had another see-saw session on Friday as the major indices bounced between positive and negative, struggling to maintain direction. There’s still no stimulus package from Washington as negotiations between the Democrats and Republicans continue. Though the number of Covid cases is rising around the world, late Friday Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca announced it would resume testing for a vaccine.

JNJ inched up 0.11% while AZN was flat at 0.08%. The Dow closed Friday essentially flat at -0.1%. The S&P finished 0.34% but -0.53% for the week, while the Nasdaq rose 0.37%, but shed 1% for the week. The mega-tech names had a split week with Facebook jumping 7% and Alphabet gaining 4.16%, but Apple down 3.34% (despite launching its much-hyped iPhone 12) and Amazon losing 2.09% despite hosting two Amazon Prime Days. Intel slid 10.58% after issuing disappointing Q3 results.

The past week has seen the battered airline industry come into sharp focus on both sides of the border. Late Friday, trading halted on Chorus Aviation after it confirmed a non-binding, third-party takeover offer, though offered no details. Chorus rocketed over 34% for the day. Already, Ottawa is signalling that it is mulling over an aid package for the airlines. Financials, tech and industrials showed strength. Though Royal Bank was flat, Bank of Montreal rallied 1.54%, closely followed by the Bank of Nova Scotia. The price of gold hardly budged, but the price of WTI and WCS but slid around 2.5%. The TSX retreated 0.82% for the week, but climbed 0.15% Friday.

👨‍⚕️ Johnson & Johnson +0.11%
💉 Astrazeneca P L C +0.08%
🕵️‍♂️ Facebook +7%
🧮 Alphabet Inc. / Google +4.16%
🍎 Apple -3.34%
📦 Amazon.com -2.09%
💾 Intel -10.58%
🛫 Chorus Aviation Inc +34%
🏛 Bank of Montreal +1.54%