Between the middle of December and the end of February, the TSX Composite has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by around 250 basis points (2.5%), supported by the period of seasonal strength in Gold, Energy, and Canadian Banks.

*** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities.   As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends.

Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today:

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Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Seasonal Chart

Power Corp. Of Canada (TSE:POW.TO) Seasonal Chart

Suncor Energy, Inc. (TSE:SU.TO) Seasonal Chart

Cooper Cos. Inc. (NYSE:COO) Seasonal Chart

Asanko Gold Inc. (TSE:AKG.TO) Seasonal Chart

Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSE:POU.TO) Seasonal Chart

Sienna Senior Living Inc. (TSE:SIA.TO) Seasonal Chart

AllianceBernstein Holding LP (NYSE:AB) Seasonal Chart

Comstock Mining Inc. (AMEX:LODE) Seasonal Chart

Toronto Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) Seasonal Chart

B2Gold Corp. (NYSE:BTG) Seasonal Chart

Imperial Oil Ltd. (AMEX:IMO) Seasonal Chart

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:J) Seasonal Chart

Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSE:OR.TO) Seasonal Chart

Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (TSE:VCN.TO) Seasonal Chart

iShares S&P/TSX Small Cap Index ETF (TSE:XCS.TO) Seasonal Chart

iShares S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index ETF (TSE:XMA.TO) Seasonal Chart

BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Global Gold Index ETF (TSE:ZGD.TO) Seasonal Chart

VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) Seasonal Chart

iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (AMEX:HEEM) Seasonal Chart

iShares Global Materials ETF (NYSE:MXI) Seasonal Chart

 

Super Simple Seasonal Portfolio

 

The Markets

Stocks continue to make their push back to record-high territory amidst the ongoing alleviation of interest rate headwinds.  The S&P 500 Index closed higher by slightly more than a quarter of one percent, charting a rather indecisive doji candlestick following the sharp jump recorded in the previous session.  The benchmark remains the most overbought according to the Relative Strength Index (RSI) since September of 2020, leaving the market open to the risk of a near-term check-back as hesitation to commit new funds sets in.  Previous resistance at 4600 now joins the large number of points of support below this market that will be working to keep the positive intermediate-term path intact through year end.  It is fair to expect that some of the gains that are normal of the Santa Claus rally period at year-end have been pulled forward into the traditional tax-loss selling period, something that may curtail the positivity that starts to materialize starting around the middle of the month, but there is nothing to suggest that we cannot continue to see the draw towards the previous peak in the market around 4800 once the end of year rally is complete.  It is difficult to add new funds to stocks at these heights, but there is certainly nothing to suggest selling.  The start of next year could be another story, however.

 

 

 

Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today:

 

S&P 500 Index

 

TSE Composite