The Daily Chase: Toronto home sales up
BNN Bloomberg
Here are five things you need to know this morning.
Who’s waiting for rate cuts?: Home sales in Toronto surged in January compared to December, according to the latest from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. However, prices were down 1.2 per cent and slipped for the sixth straight month. Still, this resurgence in activity comes before a widely expected rate cut at some point this year. We will watch for commentary from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem who speaks today at 1 p.m. ET on the effectiveness and limits of monetary policy. It’s interesting that the surge in sales activity comes even with a ban on foreign homebuyers in place. The ban was extended by two years over the weekend, which prompted a rather spicy take from Scotia’s Derek Holt, who called it it “purely xenophobic.” He’ll elaborate this morning in an 11:40 a.m. ET interview on Morning Markets.
AI earnings: We got earnings from AI plays Palantir and Coveo. Palantir shares were surging this morning after the company posted its first annual profit and touted an “onslaught” of AI interest from customers. Dan Ives at Wedbush called Palantir an “undiscovered gem” in the AI revolution. Not everyone is convinced. RBC has a “sell” on the stock and noted sales to the government were weaker than expected (though they still make up more than half the business). These debates are what make a market! On the TSX, we will watch shares of Coveo. Earnings beat expectations and the company modestly raised its 2024 forecasts. Their generative AI solution for businesses is a key driver, with BMO noting it drove 20 per cent of bookings. We will get more colour from the CEO who will be on The Open at 10:40 a.m. ET.
The AI of biotech: Shares of Eli Lilly are poised to open at yet another all-time high. The maker of diet and obesity drugs managed to beat expectations and offer a better-than-expected forecast. Hard to believe that it could beat expectations given the stock’s parabolic 110-per-cent increase over the past year. The gains this morning continue to solidify Lilly as the most valuable biotech on the planet.
