The Stock Market At Close – Friday January 27
The Toronto Market:
The TSX composite index ended today’s market at 20,714.48 up 13.98 points, or 0.1%. That is the highest closing in about seven months.
Looking at the sectors within the TSX index, the technology sector rose 1.5%, while the energy sector rose 1.1% despite a pullback in oil. U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.6% lower at $79.68 a barrel. Resources sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies was down 0.8% while utilities ended 0.7% lower. There were 29 new 52 week highs and 2 new 52 week lows.
The Toronto stock market appears ready to make more gains now that Bank of Canada hinted at likely pausing interest rate hikes after Wednesday’s 25 basis point hike. It helps also that U.S. data showed inflation pressures easing ahead of interest rate decisions next week Wednesday by the US Federal Reserve and also some European central banks.
The big gainers on the TSX today are Lightspeed Commerce Inc.(TSE:LSPD) closed today at $24.44 up 6.86% or $1.57 with a volume of 1.7M. Westshore Terminals Investment Corp (TSE:WTE) closed at $25.76, up $1.29 or 5.27% with a volume of 199.8K traded. Shopify Inc. (TSE:SHOP) gained 3.48% to close at $66.66 while Magna International Inc. (TSE:MG) gained 2.87% to close at $85.06. Blackberry, member of the technology sector, was up 3.55% to close at $5.84.
The US market:
The Nasdaq Composite advanced nearly 109.30 points, or 0.95% to close at 11,621.7. The S&P 500 gained 10.13 points, 0.3% to end the session at 4,070.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged gaining 28.67 points, or 0.08% to end the session at 33,978.1. All but two sectors in the S&P 500 rose this week.
Among the major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary led the percentage gainers, a major member of that sector is Tesla and Tesla stock went up 33% this week. The energy sector suffered the largest percentage loss, down 2%, followed by real estate, healthcare which slipped 0.9% and utilities which fell 0.5%.
Weekly Summary: Today is Friday, so we summarize the week at the markets. For the week, the Dow rose 1.8%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq added 2.5% and 4.3%, respectively. This was generally a good week at the markets. S&P 500 rose by 2.5%for the week. The market climb, this week reflects the general feeling about the US economy. Data showed that the US economy grew more than expected in the last quarter of last year, though the pace of economic growth was slower than in third quarter. All but two sectors in the S&P 500 rose this week. The gainers were led by the consumer discretionary sector, up 6.4%, and technology, up 4.1%. Other strong gainers included communication services, up 3.3%; real estate, up 2.8%; and financials, up 2.5%.
On Corporate Earnings reports at the market today, shares of Intel Corp plunged 6.4% or -$1.93 to close at $28.16 with a volume of 148.4M shares traded, after the chipmaker provided dismal earnings projections. On the other hand, American Express Co (AXP) was the big winner today. The stock jumped 10.54%, or $16.43 with 14M shares changing hands. Visa climbed 3% higher on solid demand.
Next week’s earnings calendar features companies such as Exxon Mobil (XOM), Pfizer (PFE), McDonald’s (MCD), United Parcel Service (UPS), Caterpillar (CAT), Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), Apple (AAPL), Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Merck (MRK). Tune in on Monday evening, for an update on the actual day of the week each company reports.
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Stocks In The News/ Stocks To Watch:
We start with Westshore Terminals Investments (TSX:WTE). The company’s stock price was up 5.27%. We present the 3-month Day chart below. It is a stock to keep an eye on.
American Express had a promising report and was duly rewarded by the market. The stock price jumped 10.54%. The volume tells the story.
Intel Corp (INTC) plunged 6.4% or -$1.93 to close at $28.16 with a volume of 148.4M shares traded as mentioned earlier. It is not a good sign when a stock is down 6% with triple average daily traded volume.
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Regular Market Day Features
Beginner Investor’s (Canadian stocks) Watchlist:
The tone of the market has changed so our beginner investor can now afford to be a bit more aggressive or more risk tolerant. If the bear market returns we shall adjust the watchlist accordingly. A beginner investor studies and follows the market but not try to time the market.
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The Canadian Vanguard Chinese Stocks Watchlist:
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EV, Energy and Resource Stocks Watchlist at Today’s Market:
Tesla has gained over 30% since January 3rd. Resource and Energy stocks were down today. The story this and possibly next week for this watchlist is Tesla.
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