After a weak Monday, N.A. stocks have continued to climb higher, propelled by strong earnings reports, the Senate’s approval of a $1-trillion infrastructure bill and diminishing inflation concerns in the U.S.
It was a quiet start to the week’s trading on Monday as concerns over the Delta variant negatively impacted sentiment on the global recovery. Oil prices fell and gold slumped to a four-month low as the Dow, S&P and TSX retreated slightly, while the Nasdaq added 24 points.
Markets flipped the script on Tuesday as the S&P and Dow closed at new highs after the Senate passed an infrastructure package and oil prices regained ground. The Dow added 163 points, while the Nasdaq lost 72 points, as big technology names struggled. Canada’s main index also hit a record high on Tuesday, as heavyweight energy and mining sectors bounced back from Monday’s steep losses.
There were more record highs Wednesday for the Dow and S&P after data showed U.S. consumer price increases slowed in July, easing concerns that the Federal Reserve will be in a rush to taper its bond purchases. The U.S. consumer-price index gained 5.4% in July, year over year, while core inflation (excluding food and energy prices), rose 4.3%YoY—slightly below analysts’ expectations. In Canada, the TSX climbed 58 points—another record close–as higher gold prices boosted the mining sector.
On the U.S. jobs front Thursday, initial jobless claims for the prior week came in at 375,000, largely in line with analysts’ expectations. All three major U.S. indexes registered slight gains Thursday, while the TSX dropped 33 points as slumping gold prices and weakening oil demand weighed on the index.
Dow, S&P and TSX Gain Ground; Nasdaq Slightly Off
For the four trading days covered in this report, the Dow added 292 points to close at 35,500, the S&P 500 rose 25 points to settle at 4,461, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 20 points to close at 14,816. In Canada, the TSX added 45 points to end at 20,520.
source https://richarddri.ca/u-s-inflation-growth-slows-dow-sp-tsx-notch-new-records/
Dri Financial Group 