Market Review for April 2016
Materials Sector Leads April Charge
April was a very active month for the markets, with last month’s rally continuing until last Friday. Gold and silver made new 52-week highs, oil crossed above the $45 per barrel mark, and briefly the Canadian dollar crossed the $0.80 versus the US dollar. As it has been since January 1st, the commodity space has been the story so far in 2016 and by all accounts should remain a focused theme for our markets, due to its enormous contribution towards the valuation of our currency.

– Price of gold and silver made new 52-week highs on the very last market day in April.
– Canada is one of the leading markets in 2016 and has gained about 3.5% from end of March levels mainly because of the continued increase in oil prices.
– An average price of $53 per barrel of oil means the world’s 50 biggest publicly traded companies in the industry can stop bleeding cash.
– Canadian dollar continues to strengthen vs. the U.S. dollar crossing the $0.80 at one point.
– Canada’s largest pharmaceutical company Valeant continues to be in turmoil even as significant changes are being made to its business strategy and the CEO and CFO are outgoing.
– Transcanada Corp, the country’s No. 2 pipeline operator, reported better than expected quarterly profit.
– Overall, the US economy did not have a stellar month as 1st Quarter GDP growth rose at 0.5% versus the estimated 0.7%, which is the slowest pace in the past 2 years.
– A US retail sales and jobless claims came in lower than expected.
– Despite retail sales, Ford profits surged as SUV sales hit all-time record.
– Apple posts first decline in revenue since 2007 as declining iPhone sales impact their net income.
– Uber overtakes rental cars among business travelers in North America.
– Coca-Cola profit tops estimates as new drink sizes boost sales.
– The Federal Reserve met last Wednesday. As expected there was no rate hike and the “Fed” will continue to be cautious as they consider future rate hikes.
– Puerto Rico is on the verge of defaulting on their debt obligations and putting their $3.7 trillion economy into turmoil.
Global
– Doha oil meeting ends without agreement on capping production.
– Europe’s CDP grew by 0.6 in the first quarter versus expectation of 0.4%, but inflation was negative 0.2 in April, missing expectations.
– Europe was divided again this month as concerns about the Eurozone’s financial sector is still high.
– Germany plans $1.4 Billion in incentives for electric cars.
– Barclays posts a drop in profits on falling returns at the investment bank.
– China reported exports jumped 11.5 percent year on year, the first increase since last June and well above market forecasts.
– China’s banking regulator moves to contain a rapidly growing “shadow loans” industry.
– Mitsubishi Motors says it cheated on mileage tests for 25 years.
– Japan’s trade in surplus as imports drop for fifteenth month in a row.
– China’s March home prices rise at fastest rate in two years, top cities boom.
We continue to believe having a globally balanced portfolio with a focus on low volatility will help lower overall investment risk while having the ability to capitalize on investment opportunities.
Economic Calendar
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