It’s been a relatively quiet trading week with U.S. markets closed Thursday and a half day on Friday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
However, markets received a jolt early Monday after it was reported that President Biden would nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, ensuring a bit of continuity for the central bank as it battles inflation and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Although markets initially climbed in response to the news, the Nasdaq tumbled deep into negative territory by day’s end as climbing Treasury yields weighed on major growth stocks. The TSX also closed lower, with the tech sector surrendering significant ground.
The S&P 500 gained ground Tuesday as cyclical stocks helped overcome losses in technology shares. Bond yields continued to rise Tuesday, as 10-year U.S. Treasurys climbed to 1.66%, up from 1.62% Monday. The Nasdaq ended lower for a second straight session as rising yields prompted investors to unload key tech names. The TSX, however, snapped a four-day losing streak, thanks to the energy sector, which climbed nearly 4% after a move by the U.S., China and other nations to tap emergency oil reserves.
There was a wide range of U.S. economic news to digest on Wednesday, some good, some not so good. On the positive side, household spending rose 1.3% in October from a month earlier, while weekly jobless claims fell sharply to their lowest level in more than five decades. On the negative side, U.S. consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level in a decade, while one of the Fed’s favoured inflation gauges, the core personal-consumption expenditures price index, rose 4.1% year over year, the most since 1991. By Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500, Nasdaq and TSX recorded modest gains, while the Dow finished flat for a second straight day.
With U.S. markets closed Thursday, trading volume on the TSX was fairly light. However, the index recorded a modest gain, closing 65 points higher on strength in the tech and energy sectors.
U.S. Markets Mixed; TSX Up Slightly
For the four trading days covered in this report, the Dow added 202 points to close at 35,804, the S&P 500 inched up 3 points to settle at 4,701, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 212 points to close at 15,845. In Canada, the TSX climbed 58 points to end at 21,613.
source https://richarddri.ca/rising-yields-weigh-on-key-tech-names-in-shortened-trading-week/
Dri Financial Group 