ClearWater Market Commentary as of May 31st, 2021

Here is the ClearWater Market Commentary as of May 31st, 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	1.66%
1 Month	3.89%
YTD	13.87%
1 Year	30.67%

^{As of 2021/05/28 – Source: www.marketwatch.com}

Index Performances	Last 5 Days	YTD
Oil ($/bbl)	4.80%	37.30%
Shanghai Composite	2.75%	3.47%
Hang Seng Index	1.99%	6.41%
Russell 2000	1.84%	14.86%
Nikkei 225	1.72%	5.13%
S&P/TSX Composite	1.66%	13.87%
CAC 40	1.18%	16.80%
Nasdaq	0.64%	6.68%
DAX	0.53%	13.13%
Dow Jones Industrial	0.39%	12.82%
S&P 500	0.17%	11.93%
FTSE 100	-0.41%	8.70%

^{As of 2021/05/28 – Source: www.marketwatch.com}

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

US economy (S&P 500 0.17%):

• US stocks rose and had solid gains for the week, bringing the S&P 500 to within 0.5% of the all-time high established on May 7th.
• The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite and small-cap Russell 2000 indexes performed best.
• Growth stocks handily outperformed their value counterparts.
• Weekly jobless claims fell more than consensus expectations, to a new pandemic-era low of 406,000.
• Negotiations also continued on a new round of infrastructure spending, with Republicans unveiling a USD 928 billion counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s latest proposal of roughly USD 1.7 Trillion.
• Officials from the US Fed also stressed that inflation pressures should prove temporary, with inflation concerns being a main driver to recent market pullbacks.

Canadian markets (S&P/TSX 1.66%):

• The S&P/TSX ended a record week by moving to within 100 points of a new milestone on a broad-based rally led by health care and commodities.
• The S&P/TSX has outpaced its U.S. peers over this past month as a result.
• Cannabis producers got a lift after Hexo Corp announced its recent acquisition of Redecan.
• Energy climbed 1.9% as crude oil prices rose on expectations that the economic recovery will boost travel demand.
• Canada’s heavyweight financials sector also increased with the Bank of Montreal up 1.5% following the release of its strong quarterly results.
• The Canadian dollar also strengthened as the Bank of Canada’s shift to a more hawkish stance, as investors await U.S. inflation data that could provide clues on the US Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.

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

European and Asian economies:

• Shares in Europe advanced on continued affirmations of ultra-easy monetary policy and reports of a massive U.S. fiscal spending plan.
• The UK widened its vaccination rollout to include anyone over the age of 30 now, with some regions now lowering the threshold to 18.
• Germany’s Business Climate Index hit its highest level since May 2019, as optimism about the economic outlook strengthened.
• However, the French economy slipped into recession in the first quarter.
• Switzerland abandoned talks on a framework trade deal with the European Union, which put an end to seven-years of talks between the parties.
• Japan’s stock markets saw gains for the week as the country accelerated its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The government, however, is set to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and eight other prefectures for three weeks until June 20th.
• Chinese stocks rose strongly, with both the CSI 300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index posting the best weekly gain in more than three months.
• Tourism-related names and other stocks leveraged to an economic reopening rose after China passed a milestone of over 500 million COVID-19 vaccinations.

What to watch this week:

• Market Holiday in the U.S. for Memorial Day and in the U.K. for Bank Holiday.Canadian GDP (Q1).
• Canadian Building Permits (May).
• U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book.
• Chinese Caixin Services PMI (May).
• Japanese Services PMI (May).
• U.S. Services PMI (May).
• Eurozone Retail Sales (April).
• U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls (May).
• U.S. Unemployment Rate (May).
• U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate (May).
• Canadian Unemployment Rate (May).

• 

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

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