(Toronto) The main Canadian dung beetle index edged up in an abridged session due to the Christmas recess.
The S & P / TSX improved 10.75 points to 21,229.68 thanks to gains in the health, energy and financial sectors. Investors have played the card of caution pending the release of new data on the Omicron variant and upcoming economic indicators.
“All in all, the day was calm and the volume of transactions was low, which was expected,” said Anish Chopra, CEO of the firm Portefolio Management.
During the week, the index gained 490.67 points as investors seemed more reassured. In particular, the US authorities urgently authorized the manufacture of two drugs against COVID, the first from Pfizer and the second from Merck. In addition, data from the United Kingdom and South Africa showed signs of encouragement about hospitalizations, even if the World Health Organization urged against drawing too hasty conclusions about it. .
“Investors were concerned that Santa would stay at home, based on last week’s trading volume,” Chopra said.
New data on Omicron in January could have repercussions for inflation, the price of oil and various sectors of the economy such as tourism.
“New confinements could create inflation for certain products”, underlines Mr. Chopra who fears an imbalance between supply and demand.
“If Omicron causes a slowdown, oil prices will tend to fall. ”
The US stock exchanges and commodities markets were closed.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.05 cents US, compared to 78.03 cents the previous day.