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Weekly Market Snapshot: Geopolitical Fog Meets Earnings Season as Markets Grind Higher

Week ending April 24, 2026 | Canadian Money Brief – moneysavings.ca Markets this week found themselves caught between two powerful forces: a roaring U.S. earnings season pushing stocks to fresh records, and a simmering Middle East conflict keeping oil elevated and investor nerves frayed. For Canadians, that makes for a complicated but important picture heading into the last week of April. TSX Composite: Stuck in the Mud The S&P/TSX Composite spent the week trading in a tight band near the 34,000 mark, unable to mount a meaningful rally. Tuesday delivered a sharp blow — the index plunged over 550 points to close at 33,808 as U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks collapsed after U.S. Vice President JD Vance abruptly cancelled his Pakistan trip, where he was set to lead negotiations. Wednesday brought a partial recovery, with the TSX adding roughly 0.4% to close at 33,955 , helped by gains in energy and mining stocks following President Trump's announcement of an indefinite ceasefire ex...

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US Stock Futures Retreat After Intel’s Gloomy Outlook

 

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US stock futures retreated on Friday after Intel’s first-quarter outlook fell well short of Wall Street expectations, somewhat denting the AI-fueled hopes that have helped lift stocks to record highs. 

Intel shares fell over 10% in premarket trading, with peers AMD and Nvidia also taking a slight knock. The S&P 500 futures dropped 0.2% after a winning Thursday saw the benchmark close at another record high. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also lost around 0.2%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 sank nearly 0.5%. Techs led the way lower after a gloomy outlook from Intel, as investors awaited a key inflation reading seen as influential in the timing of an interest rate cut.

The release of the PCE index for December painted a rosy inflation picture for investors, however. “Core” PCE, the inflation gauge commonly known as the Fed’s preferred measure, fell below 3% on an annual basis, the slowest rate of growth since March 2021. That number, combined with a hotter-than-expected early estimate on fourth quarter US GDP, could further the notion that the US economy is headed for a “soft landing.”

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) is a measure of the prices that people living in the United States pay for goods and services. It is released each month in the Personal Income and Outlays report and is used to calculate the GDP and inflation . The PCE index is known for capturing inflation (or deflation) across a wide range of consumer expenses and reflecting changes in consumer behavior. The latest release of the PCE index for December 2023 shows that the “core” PCE, the inflation gauge commonly known as the Fed’s preferred measure, fell below 3% on an annual basis, the slowest rate of growth since March 2021.


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