“Once the speculative tide starts running, few can resist its pull” – John Train

TSX Retreats on Sagging Oil

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index dropped 47.98 points (0.30%) on the day to close at 15,728.32. On the week, the TSX gained 88 points (0.56%).

The main drag on the TSX on Friday was the cost of a barrel of oil, which dropped by 3%. November Oil Futures shed $1.54USD per barrel to settle at $49.25USD per barrel.

Gold crept higher by 0.45% ($5.70USD per ounce) to finish the week at $1,278.90USD.

The Loonie rose by almost half a penny against the Greenback and settled at an even 80 cents USD.

S&P 500 Ends 6-Day Streak of Record Highs on Declining Jobs Numbers

U.S. non-farms jobs numbers declined for the month of September by 33,000 jobs, according to the Department of Labor. This marks the first monthly jobs decline in 7 years, when the U.S. was still digging its way out of the Great Recession. Analysts believe the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma left many southern workers either temporarily displaced, or resulted in new hires being delayed.

The S&P 500’s 6-day streak of record highs was snapped due to the jobs data, settling at 2,549 on a loss of 2.74 points (0.11%); however, the previous streak of record highs lifted the S&P to a weekly gain of 1.19%.

Changes Coming to Canadian Tax Proposals

Finance Minister Bill Morneau confirmed on Wednesday that, after the close of the 75-day consultation window – the Federal Government’s tax proposals will be reviewed and will likely be changed somewhat.

The 3 major changes originally proposed by Minister Morneau centered mostly around Privately Controlled Canadian Corporations, and included: restricting income sprinkling/splitting, limiting passive investments within the corporation, and limiting business owners’ ability to convert regular income into capital gains. You can get a more complete picture of these initial proposals by reading Anthony’s blog.

It can reasonably be assumed that the pushback received during the 75-day consultation window was strong and steady, causing the Federal Government to reconsider the initial proposals. It should be noted, however, that there will not be another consultation period, so any changes made to the initial proposals will not be subject to future feedback.

WEEKLY MARKET WRAP-UP

North America
The TSX closed at 15723, up 88 points or 0.56% over the past week. YTD the TSX is up 2.92%.
The DOW closed at 22774, up 368 points or 1.64% over the past week. YTD the DOW is up 15.24%.
The S&P closed at 2549, up 30 points or 1.19% over the past week. YTD the S&P is up 13.85%.
The Nasdaq closed at 6590, up 94 points or 1.45% over the past week. YTD the Nasdaq is up 22.42%.
Gold closed at 1277, down -19.00 points or -0.39% over the past week. YTD gold is up 12.21%.
Oil closed at 49.31, down -2.27 points or -4.40% over the past week. YTD oil is down -5.57%.
The USD/CAD closed at 0.8, changed 0.0000 points or 0.00% over the past week. YTD the USD/CAD is up 7.83%.

Europe/Asia
The MSCI closed at 2016, up 24 points or 1.20% over the past week. YTD the MSCI is up 15.00%.
The Euro Stoxx 50 closed at 3603, up 8 points or 0.22% over the past week. YTD the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 9.48%.
The FTSE closed at 7523, up 150 points or 2.03% over the past week. YTD the FTSE is up 5.32%.
The CAC closed at 5360, up 30 points or 0.56% over the past week. YTD the CAC is up 10.24%.
DAX closed at 12956, up 127.00 points or 0.99% over the past week. YTD DAX is up 12.85%.
Nikkei closed at 20691, up 335.00 points or 1.65% over the past week. YTD Nikkei is up 8.25%.
The Shanghai closed at 3349, changed 0.0000 points or 0.00% over the past week. YTD the Shanghai is up 7.89%.

Fixed Income
The 10-Yr Bond closed at 2.37, up 0.0400 points or 1.72% over the past week.YTD the 10-Yr Bond is down -3.27%.

Sources: Globe Advisor, Dynamic Funds