ClearWater Market Commentary as of July 5th, 2021

Here is the ClearWater Market Commentary as of July 5th, 2021:

In this issue:
– Performance of Major Indices
– Market Commentary
– Last Week’s Key Economic  Events and Upcoming Events

Performance of Principle Indexes: 

S&P/TSX Composite Index
5 Day	0.05%
1 Month	1.43%
YTD	16.02%
1 Year	29.47%

^{As of 2021/07/02- Source: www.marketwatch.com}

Index Performances	Last 5 Days	YTD
Oil ($/bbl)	1.60%	55.00%
Dow Jones Industrial	1.47%	13.66%
S&P 500	1.44%	15.87%
FTSE 100	1.27%	10.87%
Nasdaq	0.96%	13.59%
DAX	0.68%	14.15%
S&P/TSX Composite	0.35%	17.17%
CAC 40	0.29%	18.48%
Russell 2000	-0.59%	16.91%
Nikkei 225	-1.55%	4.20%
Shanghai Composite	-2.00%	1.76%
Hang Seng Index	-3.82%	3.37%

^{As of 2021/07/02- Source: www.marketwatch.com}

Last week’s and next week’s key economic events:
 

US economy (S&P 500 1.44%):

• The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq both moved to new highs and closed out a fifth consecutive quarterly advance.
• Large-cap growth stocks lead the gains, with Technology and Health care leading the pack. Consumer discretionary stocks were also strong.
• Generally favorable economic data seemed to support market sentiment. The Conference Board’s Index of Consumer Confidence beat expectations and reached a 16-month high.
• Housing prices continued to rise, and the strong labour market was another factor in making Americans feel more optimistic about their economic prospects.
• Weekly jobless claims fell more than expected to a pandemic-era low of 364,000.
• Health officials also stressed the effectiveness of vaccines against the delta Covid-19 variant, which has been plaguing parts of the globe.

Canadian markets (S&P/TSX 0.35%):

• Canada’s main stock index started off the second half of the year in record territory as U.S. jobs gains point to strong recovery in the months to come.
• The S&P/TSX composite index returned from the Canada Day holiday to close up 60.53points to 20,226.11, after hitting an intraday record of 20,338.45
• Canada posted a surprise trade deficit of $1.39 billion in May, while our factory activity was a little disappointing, growing at the slowest pace in four months in June.
• Crude oil dipped from Thursday’s high but still remained above US$75 a barrel.
• Energy continued to remain positive on further gains in natural gas prices.
• While Canadian data was weaker, most investors continue to be more focused on U.S. numbers, which continue to indicate their economy is robust. The positive momentum should continue into the second half of the year.

Performance 2021: S&P 500/400/600 Sectors

European and Asian economies:

• Shares in Europe were down slightly on worries that inflationary pressures might bring forward interest rate increases.
• Another headwind was the spread of a highly infectious variant of the novel coronavirus, which clouded the outlook for an economic recovery.
• Core eurozone government bond yields fell, reflecting growing fears about the spread of the delta variant in Europe. As a result of the number of new Covid-19 cases, the EU has now started a Digital COVID Certificate. However, travel restrictions for vaccinated North American travellers are starting to ease.
• Overall, Eurozone inflation numbers have dipped, jobless rates fell, and manufacturing continues to boom. Although it has had its hiccups, economic recovery in the Eurozone continues to improve.
• Japan’s stock markets were negative for the week, largely due to coronavirus infection rates and the eroded optimism in the country’s vaccination drive.
• Japan’s industrial production also contracted and unemployment numbers rose to their highest levels since December 2020.
• Chinese stocks also fell for the week. Both the Shanghai Composite Index and Large-Cap CSI 300 Index posted a weekly loss after each index recorded its biggest one-day percentage drop since early March on Friday.
• Reports of profit-taking by domestic investment funds and open market operations undertaken by China’s central bank to drain funds from the financial system may have contributed to the declines.
• However, China’s PMI numbers for June met expectations, industrial profits continue to grow, and other key economic data points continue to signal an upside

What to watch this week:

• European Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) (June).
• Canada Business Outlook Survey Indicator (Q2).
• U.S. Markit Services and Composite PMI (June).
• Japan Leading Economic Index (May).
• U.S. continuing jobless claims (regular state program).
• U.S. initial jobless claims (regular state program).
• U.S. Census Bureau wholesale inventories.
• U.K. Industrial Production (May).
• Canada Employment (June).

• 

Sources: Bloomberg.com,Yardeni.com, Barron’s.com, Factset.com and Newyorkfed.org

Thank-you for checking out our ClearWater Market Commentary for July 5th, 2021. If you would like to receive the ClearWater Commentary at the start of every week, sign-up for our Newsletter.