We start this week the way we ended the last one; a significant sell-off in the stock market focused on the technology sector. There is no single catalyst for the drop in equity prices. The Nasdaq is up 70% from the pandemic lows and this sell-off may very well be much anticipated correction to bring valuations in line more consistent with fundamentals. Regardless, there is clearly a rotation from the high flying tech names to more economic sensitive names. There are other factors too; at a news conference yesterday, Trump floated the idea of a “decoupling” from China. China on the other hand launched an initiative on data security standards, a move being interpreted by some as an attempt to neuter US sanctions against Chinese tech companies. Oil extended its drop and is down another 5% this morning after Saudi Arabia cut prices over the weekend. The combined effect of these developments is unsurprising; the US dollar is stronger across the board and the Canadian dollar is weaker by 0.6%.
