Dec 29, 2017
BNN's Daily Chase: TSX ends year on a high note; new mortgage rules loom
By Noah Zivitz
The TSX heads into the last trading session of the year with a freshly-notched record under its belt. Yesterday’s all-time high of 16,221.95 contributed to a better-than six per cent gain on the year, which puts the Composite Index ahead of stocks in Sri Lanka and Slovakia, but leaving it behind the likes of Shanghai and Bucharest. Best-performing index this year is in Venezuela, where stocks have surged 3,883 per cent. We’ll leave it to someone else to run the anatomy of that market’s rally. Here are some of Bay Street’s 2017 standouts (for better or for worse):
Groups:
Health care: +33.6%
Consumer discretionary: +20.6%
Leaders:
Canopy Growth: +232.7%
Kirkland Lake Gold: +173.1%
Shopify: +122.9%
Air Canada: +89.54%
Martinrea International: +88.2%
Laggard story stocks:
Eldorado Gold: -58.1%
Tahoe Resources: -52.6%
Home Capital Group: -45.4%
B-20 LOOMS
Canadians have had more than two months to prepare for new mortgage rules that kick in next week. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institution’s B-20 guideline, which will require the lenders it regulates to apply tough stress tests to uninsured mortgages. As a refresher, here’s what OSFI boss Jeremy Rudin told us about the rules when we spoke with him in October. And keep an eye on BNN.ca for Greg Bonnell's report on what the new rules mean for the housing market.
APPLE MEA CULPA OVER IPHONE PERFORMANCE CONTROVERSY
Apple is apologizing amid customer complaints about aging iPhone performance. "We have never - and would never - do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product," Apple said in a message posted on its website yesterday, which went on to explain why batteries degrade over time, a software update helped keep older iPhones from shutting down, and the company's attempt to make good with cheaper replacement batteries and an imminent software update. Question is whether this is enough to appease customers.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:
-Oil is back above US$60 per barrel, re-testing levels last seen in June 2015. After sinking as low as US$42.53/barrel in June, crude is trading almost 12 per cent higher year-to-date.
-Amazon has indirectly landed in Donald Trump's crosshairs. The American president slammed the U.S. postal service in a tweet for "charging Amazon and other so little to deliver their packages."
-Bitcoin is closing the year with another choppy day of trading. It’s been up as much as eight per cent after falling by the same amount yesterday. All in, the cryptocurrency has surged 1,405 per cent this year.
-EgyptAir has firmed up a letter of intent to buy 12 CS300 jets from Bombardier and purchase rights for up to another 12 planes. At list price, the whole agreement could be worth US$2.2 billion.
-We’re looking into a listeria scare that has prompted the recall of 36 different brands of sandwiches made by HQ Fine Foods. Details here.
Every morning BNN's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe.
