“The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser – in case you thought optimism was dead” – Robert Brault

TSX Winning Streak Continues, Hits 11 Days

The S&P/TSX Composite gained ground each day this week and is now on an 11-Day winning streak. It is still very early in the year, but the TSX is now up 6.85% year-to-date.

In fact, most major markets world-wide like U.S. major indexes – Dow Jones Industrial Average, the NASDAQ, the S&P 500 – the Nikkei (Japan), Hang Seng (China), FTSE (England/UK), DAX (Germany) and CAC (France) experienced weekly gains, and the aforementioned indexes are all up for 2019 so far.

Almost certainly, 2019 will not be as smooth throughout as the first few weeks have been, but markets are off to a strong start across the board.

British Prime Minister Theresa May Survives Vote of No-Confidence after Brexit Defeat

The mere fact that the FTSE was up for the week is astonishing, considering the political turmoil in the House of Commons over the course of the week.

On Tuesday, Theresa May and her Conservative government tabled a Brexit bill for vote in the House. This bill outlined the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU, to occur on March 29^th. May’s motion was crushed by 432 votes to 202 votes. 118 of May’s fellow Conservatives voted against her.

This is the worst defeat suffered in the House of Commons by a sitting majority government since 1924.

According to the BBC.com, “The most controversial sticking point was the issue of the Northern Irish backstop – the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical border checks between the country and Ireland.”

Smelling blood in the water, Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn went on the offensive and called for a vote of no-confidence against the May government; however, May survived the Wednesday vote and remains in power.

Had a vote of no-confidence been successful, PM May would have had 14 days to regain confidence, or the country would’ve been thrown into an early election.

It is worth noting that the UK is still on pace to exit the EU on March 29^th, but this week’s defeat of Mrs. May’s bill has cast further doubt on the exact timing and nature of the exit.

Weekly Update – By The Numbers

North America

• The TSX closed at 15,304, up 365 points or 2.44% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 6.85%.
• The DOW closed at 24,706, up 710 points or 2.96% over the past week. YTD the DOW is up 5.91%.
• The S&P closed at 2,671, up 75 points or 2.89% over the past week. YTD the S&P is up 6.54%.
• The NASDAQ closed at 7,157, up 185 points or 2.65% over the past week. YTD the NASDAQ is up 7.87%.
• Gold closed at 1,281, down 1.00 points or -0.54% over the past week. YTD gold is down -0.31%.
• Oil closed at 53.74, up 2.04 points or 3.95% over the past week. YTD oil is up 17.26%.
• The USD/CAD closed at 0.7546, up 0.0003 points or 0.04% over the past week. YTD the USD/CAD is up 2.97%.

Europe/Asia

• The MSCI closed at 2,001, up 44 points or 2.25% over the past week. YTD the MSCI is up 6.15%.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 closed at 3,135, up 65 points or 2.12% over the past week. YTD the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 4.47%.
• The FTSE closed at 6,968, up 50 points or 0.72% over the past week. YTD the FTSE is up 3.57%.
• The CAC closed at 4,876, up 95 points or 1.99% over the past week. YTD the CAC is up 3.06%.
• DAX closed at 11,206, up 319.00 points or 2.93% over the past week. YTD DAX is up 6.13%.
• Nikkei closed at 20,666, up 306.00 points or 1.50% over the past week. YTD Nikkei is up 3.25%.
• The Shanghai closed at 2,596, up 42.0000 points or 1.64% over the past week. YTD the Shanghai is up 4.09%.

Fixed Income

• The 10-Yr Bond Yield closed at 2.78, up 0.0800 points or 2.96% over the past week. YTD the 10-Yr Bond Yield is up 3.35%.

Sources: Globe Advisor, Advisor.ca, TheGuardian.com, BBC.com

This information is provided for general information purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice. Please contact a professional about your specific needs before taking any action.