Do we know any more today than we knew last week?

by JDH on May 9, 2015

No.  No we don’t.

DOWMay8-2014 The DOW remains below all time new high territory, although the Boyz tried to get it there on Friday with a 1.5% push, but that only looked good in comparison to the low on Wednesday, which was the lowest level in five weeks.

So, this week, we saw the highest level since mid March, and the lowest level since early April.

All in three days.

That’s great if you like volatility, but if you are waiting for an indication of where this market is going, you will have to wait somewhat longer to find out.

Of greater interest to me is the plight of the US Dollar.

USDMay8-2015

Since the second week of April the US Dollar has lost 6% of it’s value, due in part to the recovery in the price of oil.

Does it matter?

If you live in Canada, yes, it matters, because we can now buy stuff cheaper from the US, although our exports are more expensive.

In the longer term it probably doesn’t matter, since the dollar is back where it was for most of February, and is still considerably higher than where it started the year.

I have a not insignificant portion of my investments in US denominated assets, including portions of my TFSA and RRSP, so I’m protected either way.

Two final thoughts:  I’ll let you pull the charts for yourself, but it would appear that both Apple and gold are building bases, and could be ready for new runs.  I won’t be selling any of my holdings this week.

That’s the report.

The weather here is great this weekend, so stop reading and go enjoy it.