Another day, another record high for North American stocks…
On Wednesday the S&P 500 climbed another 0.5% and Toronto was up 0.4%.
Heineken was up 3.7% in Euros. Melcor was up 4.0% albeit on its usual tiny volume. Bank of America was up another 2.2%.
The continued rapid gains seem somewhat surreal. Markets are rising on hopes of the things Trump will do. But apparently today one of his Cabinet nominees withdrew his name because not enough republicans would have supported him. That being the case, it may be that Trump will not get the republican support that he will need to pass all of his ideas through the legislature. On top of that he was apparently criticizing the U.S. intelligence agencies who are looking into his campaign’s frequent discussions with Russian intelligence – you know the same Russian intelligence that is accused of interfering in the election. I am not sure why the market would not start to get concerned about some of this and the possible instabilities it could cause.
To me, it seems logical to lean toward holding more cash the higher markets go. That way we can benefit from the rise but also build cash for the almost inevitable dips. My order to lighten up on Boston Pizza finally went through at $23.50. I sold what amounted to 14% of my holdings which added a chunk to my cash while retaining a large investment in this entity.
I also have an order in the reduce my Toll Brothers if it hits $35. They announced today some sales incentive on their New York luxury apartments. Possibly, the market will react negatively to that but I don’t think it is a big deal.
Constellation Software released earnings after the close.
Statistics Canada announced a 2.3% rise in Manufacturing output in December.
Retail sales for December were reported and appear to show a sharp 4.7% rise over the prior year.