TORONTO 鈥� Strength in materials and health care stocks helped lift sa国际传媒's main stock index more than 100 points Friday.聽
Meanwhile, U.S. markets ended the day mixed, but nevertheless closed out their eighth straight winning week.聽
鈥淚t's another positive week. A great way to finish the year, given everything that happened,鈥� said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 115.46 points at 20,881.19.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 18.38 points at 37,385.97. The S&P 500 index was up 7.88 points at 4,754.63,while the Nasdaq composite was up 29.11 points at 14,992.97.
After starting 2023 on shaky footing, with market sentiment 鈥渟kewed to the downside,鈥� much of the uncertainty investors faced has since been resolved, said Petursson.聽
鈥淲e have now a path forward on interest rates and that's lower, we know inflation ... has been managed,鈥� he said.聽
What鈥檚 more, economic data continues to suggest that the risk of a recession is behind us, noted Petursson 鈥� at least in the U.S., which drives Canadian markets as well.聽
鈥淚 would argue that sa国际传媒 is likely in a recession,鈥� he said.聽
sa国际传媒鈥檚 GDP was flat in October for the third straight month, with Statistics sa国际传媒 forecasting 0.1 per cent in growth for November.聽
The latest data comes after the economy shrank in the third quarter. 聽聽
sa国际传媒鈥檚 consumer is much more sensitive to interest rate changes because of the way mortgages work compared with the United States, said Petursson, making the overall economy more sensitive as well.
But in the bigger picture, both central banks are heading into 2024 having made significant progress in their fights against inflation, he said. The U.S. will get a smoother landing, but both it and sa国际传媒 are headed in the right direction.
A pair of reports Friday showed that the U.S. Federal Reserve鈥檚 preferred measure of inflation slowed by more than expected in November, while spending by U.S. consumers surprised to the upside.聽
While investors are entering 2024 with an eye to interest rate cuts, there鈥檚 a lot more certainty in knowing what direction the central banks will take next, even if we don鈥檛 know when those cuts will begin, said Petursson.
鈥淭hat then sets us along a new path. We've hit an inflection point.鈥澛�
Looking back, investors will find that 2023 exceeded expectations, he said.聽
The Canadian dollar traded for 75.43 cents UScompared with 75.13 cents US on Thursday.
The February crude oil contract was down 33 cents at US$73.56 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.49 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was up US$17.80 at US$2,069.10 an ounceand the March copper contract was down a penny at US$3.91 a pound.
鈥� With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
