Market week: Stocks mostly flat on short trading week

No surprise trade or economic data to goose sentiment

Mixed first-quarter earnings reports kept investors on the defensive as the major U.S. stock market indices remained mostly flat on the week. Canada’s benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index logged a near 1% advance on the week, on slightly accelerating inflation in March, rising retail sales in February, and a narrowing trade deficit. In the U.S., absent a catalyst to move markets higher (for example a U.S.-China trade deal or confirmation of a bottom to soft growth in China and Europe), the S&P 500 Composite Index flatlined on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained a marginal 0.2%.

* Evolve debuts U.S. pot fund. Evolve Funds Group Inc. announced that its Evolve U.S. Marijuana ETF (NEO: USMJ) began trading on April 17. The fund aims to provide investors with long-term capital appreciation by actively investing in a diversified mix of equity securities of publicly-traded stocks involved in the U.S. marijuana industry. It uses an investment process that combines quantitative techniques, fundamental analysis, and risk management and is denominated in Canadian dollars. It will incorporate a dynamic foreign-exchange strategy to hedge back to the Canadian dollar, at the discretion of Evolve.

* Horizons launches U.S. cannabis fund. Horizons ETFs Management also debuted its Horizons US Marijuana Index ETF (NEO: HMUS), which began trading on April 18. The fund tracks the U.S. Marijuana Companies Index, which provide exposure to the performance of a basket of North American publicly-listed life sciences companies with exposure to U.S. marijuana or hemp industries. The ETF trades on the NEO exchange in both Canadian and U.S dollars.

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