By Mike Keerma
A rally in technology stocks on Friday, led by a surge in shares of
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), boosted the tech-weighted
Nasdaq Composite Index to a 1.3% gain on the week. And while the blue-chip
S&P 500 Composite Index advanced 1.3% on Friday, the index failed to gain on the week, closing just
a hair below breakeven, as traders reacted to disappointing job creation
numbers in April, with 164,000 new non-farm jobs created, while the U.S.
unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% from 4.1%, the lowest in about 18 years.
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note, meanwhile, retreated 1.3 basis
points, ending the week at 2.946%. Toronto’s benchmark
S&P/TSX Composite Index closed slightly above breakeven on the week, against a backdrop of economic
growth as February’s GDP posted a 0.4% monthly increase (3.0% annual rate),
while the price of
crude oil gained 2.6% on the week, lending support to Canada’s energy sector.
FUND NEWS
* BMO launches new mutual funds:
BMO Investments announced the debut of several new mutual funds:
BMO Concentrated Global Equity Fund, investing in a concentrated portfolio of global high-quality equity
securities.
BMO Covered Call Canada High Dividend ETF Fund, offering a portfolio of dividend-paying Canadian equities with additional
yield through a covered call overlay.
BMO Crossover Bond Fund, with targeted exposure to BBB and BB-rated bonds in developed markets.
BMO Global Multi-Sector Bond Fund,
an active portfolio of global fixed-income securities, aiming for a high
level of interest income.
BMO Multi-Factor Equity Fund
holds U.S. equities selected by identifying factor exposures.
BMO U.S. Small Cap Fund
invests in smaller and mid-sized U.S. companies.
* Mackenzie debuts absolute return fund.
Mackenzie Investments
announced the launch of it Mackenzie Multi-Strategy Absolute Return Fund, which aims
for a positive total return over a market cycle, regardless of the ups and
downs. The fund will make use of a variety of alternative strategies teams
to allocate assets among multiple non-traditional strategies including
long/short equity, opportunistic credit, and global macro.
Check Fund Library’s
Market Activity page regularly for active updates on key market indexes and commodities.
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