Market developments
Equities:
Stocks retreated after a rally that drove markets to multiple records this year, with traders weighing mixed jobs data. The S&P 500 erased weekly gains due to weakness in the technology sector and the Nasdaq also fell this week, closing 60bps lower as companies like Tesla and Broadcom declined. Concerns about overbought conditions and potential divergences in momentum led to worries about a pull back. In Canada, Materials and Utilities have been driving the TSX returns this month as these sectors have benefited from falling rates, helping the Canadian market to close some of the YTD performance gap compared to the U.S.
Fixed income:
Reports showed the economy continued to add jobs without spurring wage surges, potentially allowing the Fed to achieve a soft landing. Treasuries fell and bond indices rose, with traders pricing in a quarter-point Fed cut in June as Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated confidence in starting to lower interest rates soon.
Commodities:
Oil prices eased lower despite a brief outage on North America’s Keystone pipeline. Oil has traded in a tighter range this year, with prices confined to their narrowest range since September 2021. OPEC+ cutbacks and tensions in the Middle East have been balanced by increased supply from non-OPEC producers like the U.S. Concerns about China’s growth have also impacted oil prices.