By Justin Turner CIM, DMS®, CFP®
A strong multi-month rally in the Canadian financial
sector was halted abruptly as the latest round of bank earnings disappointed,
giving investors an excuse to take profits from a sector that has delivered
superior returns in 2013. The earnings weren't necessarily bad, but after
a rally that had seen banks up over 20% year to date, expectations were higher
for this batch of earnings and banks were unable to deliver.
A number of
noteworthy pieces include Bank of Montreal, National Bank and in a surprise TD
Bank all raised their dividends. TD Bank also announced a stock
split for shareholders of record on January 23rd, 2014.
Finally, Royal Bank CEO Gord Nixon announced that he would be retiring in 2014.
The TSX ended the month up a modest 0.31% and up about
8.11% year to date. The US market has been stronger than just about any
market in the world in 2013, and November was no different with the Dow Jones
Industrial average returning another 3.42% bringing its year to date total to
over 20%. The Nasdaq has been even better, returning 3.57% in November,
and bringing its year to date total to a whopping 34.46%.
What will December have in store for us and will we get yet another Santa Claus rally? We'll have to wait to find out, but if history is any indication, then we probably will and these impressive 2013 numbers will look even more impressive by year's end.
What will December have in store for us and will we get yet another Santa Claus rally? We'll have to wait to find out, but if history is any indication, then we probably will and these impressive 2013 numbers will look even more impressive by year's end.
