Kim Bolton's Top Picks: March 9, 2022
BNN Bloomberg
Top picks from Kim Bolton, president and portfolio manager of Black Swan Dexteritas
Kim Bolton, president and portfolio manager of Black Swan Dexteritas
FOCUS: Technology stocks
MARKET OUTLOOK:
Driven by concerns about rising inflation and interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve, global financial markets declined in January and the first three weeks of February. Global equity market declines were led by U.S. equities, with the steepest declines across technology, cyclicals and healthcare, which were only partially offset by gains in energy.
Market volatility continued into February, with the VIX (the volatility index) holding above 20. Despite market gyrations, stock markets slipped only modestly until the last week of February.
Although a Russian incursion into Ukraine had been widely anticipated, investors appeared surprised by Russian President Putin’s decision to launch a broad-scale invasion beyond the breakaway Donbass region. The near-term direction of the stock markets will be dependent on whether the Russia-Ukraine conflict concludes diplomatically or, God forbid, a ‘fight to the end’.
