The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended lower on Friday as Netflix shares weighed, but American Express kept the Dow afloat after quarterly earnings from both companies, while growing pessimism that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon also dented sentiment.
Canada’s main stock index outperformed Wall Street, as energy and interest rate sensitive shares notched gains. The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 98.93 points, or 0.5%, at 21,807.37, its third straight day of gains. For the week, it was down 0.4% after declining 1.6% in the previous week.
“It’s positive to see a bit of a bounce in interest rate sensitive stocks,” said Lorne Steinberg, president, Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. “We are probably going to get an interest rate cut (in Canada) sooner than they will in the U.S.”
Money markets see a roughly 50% chance the Bank of Canada will begin easing as soon as June, while they expect the Fed to wait until…
