Strong economy weakens stocks
Wednesday saw the release of Canadian GDP in Q1 rise 3.1%, beating Ottawa’s own projection of 2.5%. The stronger than expected number fueled speculation that the Bank of Canada will resume hiking interest rates and pressured the TSX down by 0.84%. Only three sectors on Bay Street were positive, led utilities, while the rest dragged down the index, starting with industrials and energy.
Most-traded were Suncor which finished -1.98%, Manulife -1.6% and Enbridge -1.34%. Minerals were generally up, such as Centerra Gold by 9.8%, but Eldorado Gold sank 8.23%. WTI crude slipped 2.25% to $68 a barrel. The TSX slid 5.28% for May on weakness in commodities and financials.
Wall Street largely assumes that Washington will pass a bill to solve the perennial debt ceiling crisis, but a stronger than expected jobs data pushed down markets modestly: the S&P -0.6%, the Nasdaq -0.63%, and the Dow -0.27%. However, the S&P was flat for the month of May while Nasdaq gained 6%. Semis continued to rule the indexes, but there was profit-taking in this session: AMD -5.57% and Nvidia -4.1%. However, Intel rallied 6.47%. Elsewhere, Hewlett-Packard fell 6.35% and Advance Auto Parts tanked by 35%. The U.S. 10-year yield slipped to 3.641% while Bitcoin sank 2.4% to $27,000.
🛢 Suncor Energy Inc (SU-T) -1.98%
🏛 Manulife Financial (MFC-T) -1.6%
🛢 Enbridge (ENB-T) -1.34%
🥇 Centerra Gold Inc (CG-T) +9.8%
🥇 Eldorado Gold (ELD-T) -8.23%
💾 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD-Q) -5.57%
💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) -4.1%
💾 Intel (INTC-Q) +6.47%
💻 Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ-N) -6.35%
🚗 Advance Auto Parts (AAP-N) -35%
🅱 Bitcoin (BTCUSD) (CRYPTO:BTC) -2.4%
