Spring Fever Grips the TSX

Blue Jays fans are wishing their team could start a week just like the TSX has – with two wins in a row.

Iain Butler

Chief Investment Advisor, Motley Fool Canada Fool since November 2012 Iain Butler is Lead Advisor for Stock Advisor Canada. He is also the Chief Investment Advisor for Motley Fool Canada. Before joining the Fool, Iain was a “buy-side” analyst and through this experience is well-versed in the idiosyncratic ways of the Canadian market. His investing interests are centred on scouring the market for interesting businesses that trade at reasonable prices and offer an appealing risk/reward relationship. Since joining the Fool in 2012, Iain dedicates each day to spreading Foolishness throughout this great country!

Published April 30, 2013 4:42 pm EDT

After the slaughter of a few weeks ago, the S&P/TSX Composite (TSX:^OSPTX) has done a pretty good impression of spring by greening up nicely. Since bottoming out on April 17^th at 11,947.29 the Canadian market has rallied for about 500 points – a gain of more than 4%. This includes today’s near 144 point move higher.

Leading the charge today was Suncor Energy (TSX: SU) and its 6% move. Suncor knocked the cover off the ball with its first quarter earnings, upped its dividend and reloaded on a $2 billion buyback. When this kind of trifecta hits a stock trading at a discounted valuation, good things happen.

For the second day in a row Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) joined the ranks of top contributors as its shares jumped 1.1%. Enbridge (TSX: ENB) and Goldcorp (TSX:G) joined BNS in the day’s top contributors club. Shares in each climbed 1.6% and 2.2% respectively.

Creating the biggest drag on today’s market was Suncor’s peer Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ). CNQ shares fell 1.4%. While Suncor was driven higher because of a strong quarter, CNQ was left to deal with the decline in oil and natural gas prices that occurred today.

Because of their heavy-weightings in the S&P/TSX Composite Index, resource and financial stocks once again dominated today’s market. The heavy allocation that our market has to these sectors means investors that rely on Canadian Index funds or ETFs severely lack diversification in their portfolio. We have created a special FREE report that outlines an easy to implement strategy and 5 Canadian stocks that reduce the risks involved with passively investing in the Canadian market. Click here now to receive “Buy These 5 Stocks Instead of Following a Flawed Piece of Advice” – FREE!

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Fool contributor Iain Butler is short $32 July 2013 put options on Goldcorp. The Motley Fool does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.