Market week: U.S. stock indexes surge

Prospect of stimulus package boosts sentiment

The big U.S. stock market gauges posted solid weekly gains with the S&P 500 Composite Index advancing 3.8% and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 4.6%. Sentiment was buoyed by the prospect of a stimulus deal being reached, as the Trump administration and Congress continued to haggle over the size of the package, somewhere north of US$1 trillion. The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s employment report showed that the economy created 661,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate ticking down to 7.9% from 8.4% in August.

In Canada, employment rose by 378,000, as the unemployment rate notched down to 9.0% in September from 10.2% in August. The S&P/TSX Composite Index continued to lag, ticking down with a hairline loss of 0.1% on the week, despite a strong showing from crude oil, gaining 9.5% on the week, and gold, gaining 1.7% on the week.

Fund news and updates

* Invesco launches S&P/TSX Composite ESG Index ETF. Invesco Canada Ltd. on Oct. 8 launched its Invesco S&P/TSX Composite ESG Index ETF (TSX: ESGC). The fund is the first Canadian-listed ETF to track the S&P/TSX Composite ESG Index, which uses S&P DJI’s Environmental, Social and Governance criteria to select companies from the benchmark Canadian S&P/TSX Composite Index. In a release, Invesco said the fund “offers Canadian investors access to notable Canadian companies that have a thoughtful ESG tilt while still offering a risk/return profile similar to the benchmark Index.”

* Franklin Templeton debuts active global ETF. Franklin Templeton Canada on Oct. 6 debuted its Franklin Global Growth Active ETF (TSX: FGGE), which aims to invest in quality companies globally whose prospects have yet to be recognized by the markets. The fund is co-managed by John Remmert, Patrick McKeegan, and Don Huber. The fund invests substantially all of its assets in the Franklin Global Growth Fund, which is a concentrated portfolio of 35 to 40 global growth stocks. The fund may invest anywhere in the world, and may allocate up to 20% of its assets in emerging markets.

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