The S&P 500 on Friday advanced 0.75% for the week to close at 4,754.63 points, posting gains in four out of five sessions. The U.S. stock market extended its impressive bull run to eight straight weeks, its longest such streak since early November 2017. Following the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited dovish pivot last Wednesday, economic data over the past few days continued to bolster bets for rate cuts and the proverbial soft landing. The Santa Claus rally appears to be well underway. We’re eight weeks and running on the Sunday Reads.
Inflation is under control and moving in the right direction. Economic growth in the U.S. remains solid, though many predict some softness in 2024. Though as we demonstrated last week – guesswork don’t work. The professional guesswork industry is atrocious.
But in case you want more guesswork for entertainment purposes, Banker On Wheels has the Vanguard outlook for 2024.
Canadian stocks gained 1.3% for the week. The Canadian market is threatening to make new all-time highs. The same can be said for an equity or balanced growth portfolio.
I recently updated the returns to the end of November for the core ETF portfolios and the all-in-one asset allocation ETFs. The robust December gains have greatly added on to the porfolios’ performance shown in those posts.
On Findependence Hub, we have the return of the balanced portfolio.
December followed up a November to remember. As was demonstrated in that post, a very strong month is typically followed by impressive gains over the next 12 months. Of course there’s no guarantee (and it’s not an investable notion) but it is more than interesting to witness the power of momentum and positive market sentiment.
As always, we get what we get, so stick to your investment plan. Invest on a regular schedule. Retirees should be ready for most anything.
The struggling Canadian banks
And here’s an interesting look at the Canadian bank returns, and returns vs the index.
From the 80’s the Canadian banks have been a major contributor to the postive performance of the TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange). There’s no guarantee that the trend will continue, but a period of underperformance typically represents a very good investment opportunity. I have brought that to readers’ attention many times on this blog. The banks have been battling back, and outperforming, from mid October.
In early November I wondered if the bottom was in for the Canadian big dividend space. So far that is playing out. And the recovery is certainly led by the financials.
Putting the U.S. stock rally into perspective
The flowing cash flow from oily stocks
More from Burnsco – Here’s the cash flow projection for 4 of the top Canadian oil producers. You’ll find 3 of these companies in the very successful top 4 Canadian energy portfolio concept.
While I take a dividend approach with our oil and gas stocks, I concentrate on the big 4 – CNQ, SU, IMO, TOU. That offers a more integrated (and market beating) approach with much less volatility.
And we can learn a ton from these charts showing sector performance.
Investor sentiment can turn on a dime. But energy has still been a wonderful hold the last few years. Also, look at those defensive sectors in the financial crisis of 2008 into 2009.
The sectors in chart form …
More Sunday Reads
Let’s check in with Dividend Hawk for the stock stories and Hawk’s favourite blog posts of the week.
Mark offers things to be thankful for on the Weekend Reads at My Own Advisor.
Some good basic advice from FiPhysician, never sell low. That’s easy to control, if you are in control of your emotions and have a solid investment plan.
And for the third time this week, some lower GIC rates at EQ Bank.
Thanks for reading. Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate.
Help yourself – cut the crap investing
Earn a break on fees by way of many of these partnership links.
CANADA’S TOP-RANKED DISCOUNT BROKERAGE
Cut the Crap Investing readers can earn a break on fees at Questrade by way of that partnership link. At Questrade, you can buy ETFs for free.
I have partnerships with several of the leading Canadian Robo Advisors such as Justwealth, BMO Smartfolio, Nest Wealth and Questwealth from Questrade.
Here’s Canada’s top-performing Robo Advisor, Justwealth. You can get advice, planning and l0w-fee ETF portfolios all at one shop.
Consider Justwealth for RESP accounts. That is THE option in Canada with target date funds that adjust the risk level as the student approaches the College or University start date.
CASHFLOWS & PORTFOLIOS
The self-directed investor might consider the service provided by Mark Seed from My Own Advisor. He runs Cashflows & Portfolios where they will provide options for that optimal retirement funding strategy. That service is provided for a very reasonable fee.
If you do head to Cashflow & Portfolios (as do many Cut The Crap Investing readers), be sure to tell them Cut The Crap Investing sent ya.
OUR SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Make your cash work a lot harder at EQ Bank. RRSP and TFSA account savings rates are at 2.5% and 3.5%. You’ll find some higher rates on GICs, recently updated and increased to 3-5%. They also offer U.S. dollar accounts. We use EQ Bank, they have been awesome.
OUR CASHBACK CREDIT CARD
We make between $40 to $70 every month! And that’s on everyday spending. There are no fees with …
The Tangerine Cash Back Credit Card
For November we received $50 in cash.
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