Spring Has Sprung ?

The spring is usually a solid period for markets, however, don’t forget the old adage: “sell in May and come back in…”. Usually sometime in late spring the market weakens and moves sideways afterwards throughout the summer.

Certain sectors still look primed for upwards motion including: Agriculture, Energy, Financials, and Telecom.

Agriculture: Strong buy recommendations for Agrium (AGU), Potash (POT) & Viterra (VT). Potash has shown very strong technicals of late.

Energy: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Suncor (SU), & Talisman (TLM). For value, look at Nexen (NXY) which suffered a strong decline this past week.

Financials: All the major Canadian Banks look strong. Bank of Montreal (BMO), Scotiabank (BNS) & Royal Bank (RY) still offer potentially strong upwards gains, while CIBC (CM), National Bank (NA) & Toronto Dominion (TD) have shown solid strength of late.

Telecom: BCE, Rogers (RCI.B) & Telus all appear poised for modest conservative growth with strong dividends. Rogers has shown improved stock performance recently and appears to be out of its technical slump.

Other Stocks displaying opportunities based upon both recent strength and weakness include: Canadian National Railway (CNR), Canadian Pacific (CP), Labrador Iron Ore Units (LIF.UN), Silver Wheaton (SLW), & Teck Resources (TCK.B).

Speculative Buys include: - based on recent weakness – Cameco (CCO) & Research in Motion (RIM) down 7% this past week. Good luck.

 

 

 

 

Rebuilding Japan

Over the past three weeks I have continually advised readers to be careful in the market. With the hopeful improvement of the crisis in Japan, it is presumed that companies involved in the material sector stand to benefit with the rebuilding efforts. The market appears to have settled down from the extreme turbulence of the past week in particular.

Recommended Stocks of blog last week (to be purchased with caution) increased on average 2.03% versus the TSX Composite of +0.84%. 17 of the recommended 22 increased in price.

Recommended Stocks Going Forward include: Materials sector: Teck Resources (TCK.B), Labrador Iron Ore Units (LIF.UN) and Russel Metals (RUS).

Energy is still a mid-long term buy including top producers: Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Suncor (SU) & Talisman (TLM).

Agriculture stocks have suffered some serious setbacks of late and could be poised for long term growth. Top 2 producers would be rated buys including Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT).

Bank stocks have shown strength throughout the recent weeks and would be still considered to be Buy-Holds including: Scotia Bank (BNS), National (NA), Royal (RY) and Toronto Dominion (TD).

Speculative Buys include: Smaller copper producers including First Quantum (FM) & Lundin (LUN). Longer term very speculative stocks to watch include Cameco (CCO), Paladin (PDN) & Uranium Participation Units (U).

Could be a volatile week again in the market. Continue with caution but be open to opportunities. Don’t sell into weakness. Good luck.

 

Buyer Beware

 

Last blog (2 weeks ago) I repeatedly advised readers to reduce positions and await opportunities. With current uncertainty in Middle East politics and following the massive disaster in Japan, it’s still highly recommended to keep to the sidelines. Personally I reduced the majority of my stock positions with some handsome gains and most (but certainly not all) well above this week’s closing prices. These include: Bank of Montreal (BMO) $61.87 & $61.80 (closed $61.46), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) $48.97 & $49.00 ($45.15), Power Financial (PWF) $31.42 ($30.45), Research in Motion (RIM) $64.70 ($61.60), Royal Bank (RY) $56.69 (59.78), Talisman (TLM) $24.04 ($22.61), & Toronto Dominion (TD) $80.13 ($83.45). I also repurchased small positions in the following: Agnico Eagle (AEM) $67.86 ($64.95), Barrick (ABX) $51.16 ($49.40), Scotia Bank (BNS) $59.33 ($57.66), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) $45.08 ($45.15), & Potash (POT) $54.67 ($52.65).

Long Term Value Picks going forward include: BCE, Rogers (RCI.B), & Telus (T). The large banks have shown resilience in the face of recent pullbacks and should be held for now. Longer Term Buys in this category include: Scotia Bank (BNS), National (NA), Royal (RY) & Toronto Dominion (TD). A more speculative pick in this area for longer term appreciation is Sunlife (SLF).

Resource Stocks worth acquiring small positions include: Agnico Eagle (AEM), Agrium (AGU), Barrick (ABX), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Cenovus (CVE), Goldcorp (G), Potash (POT), Suncor (SU) & Talisman (TLM).

Speculative Buys include: Athabaska Oil Sands (ATH) down 12.36% this week, Labrador Iron Ore Units (LIF.UN), Silver Wheaton (SLW) & Teck Resources (TCK.B). For income, keep watch on Crescent Point (CPG) & Vermillion (VET). Remain cautious as the markets can go either way but probably down further still. Good luck.