Markets were up moderately on Thursday with the S&P 500 up 0.45% and Toronto up 0.7%
TFI International continued to recover and was up 2.2%.
Linamar was up 1.7% and that was despite news that Ford and Landrover Jaguar would be laying off thousands in Europe. I don’t know what impact this would have on Linamar but certainly it is not good news. But Linamar’s stock is cheap and perhaps the market decided it was already more than pricing in the weaker auto market in Europe.
We are now in a period where most companies (those with December 31 year ends) are in “quiet periods” where they won’t likely release any news until their Q4 results come out. Still, there have been a few merger type announcements even in this period. The market at the moment has been watching the FED closely for signs of how fast it raise interest rates. Also, as always news from the White House can push markets in either direction at any time.
Statistics Canada released building permit data for November. As expected, permits were down in Alberta compared to the prior year. Residential permits were down 17% and non-residential down 18%. Alberta construction and particularly around Edmonton had been holding up quite well over the past few years despite the lower oil prices. A number of large office and residential towers had likely been committed to before oil prices fall. And single family starts held up well also. But now, activity is clearly slower.
Statistics Canada also released the index of new home prices for November. This data shows new home prices have remained fairly stable with declines in Alberta at roughly 1%., versus the previous November. So far, it does not appear that home builders are offering big discounts on new homes. Correspondingly, I have not seen any indication that Melcor has reduced its lot prices – although it has focused on selling smaller less expensive lots in the past year or more.