MarketWatch Week of Nov 9, 2020

Written by: Sid Mohapatra

The TSX closed at eight-month highs at 16,686 up 2.5% on a weekly basis with global
equities posting the second week of gains on news of a breakthrough on the
COVID-19 vaccine. Cyclical sectors that have been negatively impacted by the
pandemic and are more sensitive to the reopening of the economy outperformed
last week, while sectors that have benefited from the pandemic underperformed.

Wall Street surged on Friday as Disney and Cisco’s upbeat results brought the focus
back to corporate earnings at the end of a volatile trading week that saw record
increases in coronavirus cases and heightened hopes of a working vaccine. The S&P
500 finishing at 3,585 up 2.2% for the week. The third-quarter earnings season is in its
final stretch with about 90% of S&P 500 companies having reported so far. Overall
profit is expected to fall 7.8% from last year, a significant improvement from a 21.4%
slump forecast on Oct. 1. In economic news, U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly
fell in early November due to the outcome of the presidential election and a
resurgence in COVID-19 infections and deaths, weighing on the economic outlook.

International stocks surged 4% last week compared with 2.5% for the TSX and 2.2%
for U.S. equities, signalling increased optimism in the longer-term global rebound.
The financials, industrials and energy sectors were among the strongest performers
last week, while the technology sector underperformed.