“Every day is a good day to be alive, whether the sun’s shining or not” – Marty Robbins

Bank of Canada Raises Overnight Rate to 1.00%, TSX Drops for Fifth Straight Day

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index continued its retreat on Friday. On the day, the TSX finished down 39.21 points (0.26%), dipping below 15,000 in the process to settle at 14,985.32. 6 of the 10 main index sectors dropped for the day.

For the week, the TSX was down 207 points, or 1.36%, from last week’s finish of 15,191.60.

The week’s big news came on the Bank of Canada announcement to raise the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 1.00%. You can read a bit more about the announcement here.

The announcement – as expected – pushed the Loonie higher against the Greenback, finishing the week at an even 82 cents, up 1.32 cents (1.63%) for the week. The Loonie is now at its highest mark against the US Dollar since May 2015.

Gold finished higher this week, as investors move to safe haven assets, rising to $1,351 (USD) per ounce.

Hurricane Irma Threatens Southern States, Geopolitical Concerns Add to Worries

On the heels of Tropical Storm Harvey comes Hurricane Irma, expected to hit Florida on Sunday. Irma is one of the most powerful Atlantic storms (if not THE most powerful) in over a century. Investors are taking caution, as Irma’s damage and destruction could be catastrophic.

The S&P 500 ended lower on Friday; however, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) managed to finish in positive territory, with a modest 13.01 point (0.06%) gain. The NASDAQ was down 37.68 points, or 0.59%.

North Korea tested another nuclear missile this week, their 6th such test. South Korea is bracing for another possible missile test on Saturday. This situation, coupled with the repeated storms hitting the U.S., to say nothing of the intense flooding and storms in Southeastern Asia, has pushed concerns onto the trading floor. Many major markets across the world finished down for the week.

Major Markets Year-To-Date (YTD)

North America
The TSX closed at 14985, down -207 points or -1.36% over the past week. YTD the TSX is down -1.91%.
The DOW closed at 21798, down -190 points or -0.86% over the past week. YTD the DOW is up 10.30%.
The S&P closed at 2461, down -16 points or -0.65% over the past week. YTD the S&P is up 9.92%.
The Nasdaq closed at 6360, down -75 points or -1.17% over the past week. YTD the Nasdaq is up 18.15%.
Gold closed at 1351, up 23.00 points or 2.35% over the past week. YTD gold is up 18.72%.
Oil closed at 47.58, up 0.29 points or 0.61% over the past week. YTD oil is down -8.89%.
The USD/CAD closed at 0.8229, up 0.0147 points or 1.82% over the past week. YTD the USD/CAD is up 10.92%.

Europe/Asia
The MSCI closed at 1965, down -1 points or -0.05% over the past week. YTD the MSCI is up 12.09%.
The Euro Stoxx 50 closed at 3448, up 4 points or 0.12% over the past week. YTD the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 4.77%.
The FTSE closed at 7378, down -61 points or -0.82% over the past week. YTD the FTSE is up 3.29%.
The CAC closed at 5114, down -9 points or -0.18% over the past week. YTD the CAC is up 5.18%.
DAX closed at 12304, up 161.00 points or 1.33% over the past week. YTD DAX is up 7.17%.
Nikkei closed at 19275, down -417.00 points or -2.12% over the past week. YTD Nikkei is up 0.84%.
The Shanghai closed at 3365, down -2.0000 points or -0.06% over the past week. YTD the Shanghai is up 8.41%.

Fixed Income
The 10-Yr Bond closed at 2.06, down -0.1000 points or -4.63% over the past week. YTD the 10-Yr Bond is down -15.92%.

Sources: Dynamic Funds, Thomson Reuters DataStream, Globe Advisor, BNN, Advisor.ca