ClearWater Market Commentary as of March 22nd, 2021

Here is the ClearWater Market Commentary as of March 22nd, 2021:

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

Performance of Principle Indexes: 

^{As of 2021/03/05 – Source: www.marketwatch.com}

^{As of 2021/03/19}

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

US economy (S&P 500 -0.58%):

• The major indexes continued to move to record highs early in the week but then lost ground as bond yields reached their highest levels in over a year. 
• The week began on a strong note, due to a combination of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus, more retail investor support, and the better economic outlook given progress in containing the coronavirus.
• On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would reach 100 million coronavirus vaccinations by the next day, well ahead of earlier targets, and was even preparing to lend doses to Canada and Mexico. 
• The equity rally stalled on Tuesday however as Treasury Yields resumed their rise.
• However, policymakers affirmed that they anticipated no rate hikes until 2023, along with their confidence that any increase in inflation will prove short-lived. 
• Energy stocks fell sharply as oil prices saw their biggest daily drop since the summer, seemingly driven by rising U.S. inventories and demand concerns due to renewed lockdowns and the slow vaccine rollout in Europe.
• The small-cap Russell 2000 Index fell the most, giving back some of its leadership for the year to date.

Canadian markets (S&P/TSX 0.01%):

• The TSX breached the 19,000 level for the first time as Canadian existing home sales rose to a record level.
• The gains in the TSX were led by the communication services sector, where shares of Shaw Communications Inc. surged over 40% after it agreed to be bought by rival Rogers Communications Inc., uniting Canada’s two largest cable providers. 
• The financials sector was higher due to the rise in bond yields, which tends to improve bank profitability.
• Energy led declining sectors. Oil prices continued to retreat from two-and-a-half-year highs set earlier this month after the International Energy Agency said supplies were plentiful and that crude prices were not on the verge of a new super-cycle.

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

European and Asian economies:

• Most European markets initially trended higher after shrugging off decisions by several countries to suspend the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine. 
• However, some markets retreated to losses after several countries announced new lockdown measures.   
• Equities in Hong Kong climbed after strong retail sales and industrial production data from China.
• However, stocks in mainland China fell after an acrimonious exchange at the first high-level meeting between China and the US under the Biden administration.
• The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan both echoed the sentiments of the Fed, keeping benchmark interest rates steady and making no significant changes to asset purchase programs.

What to watch this week:

Canada

• No significant releases

U.S.

• New home sales (February)
• Existing home sales (February)
• Durable goods orders (February)
• Markit Purchasing Managers’ Indices (March)
• Gross Domestic Product (4^th Quarter)
• Personal income and spending (February)
• Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (March)

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

Thank-you for checking out our ClearWater Market Commentary for March 22nd, 2021. If you would like to receive the ClearWater Commentary at the start of every week, sign-up for our Newsletter.