, and particularly U.S. stocks, in the face of all that seemed ludicrous. But those who did are the ones laughing now. After slumping 19 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively in 2022, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index have trounced other Western markets this year.
That doesn’t mean the U.S. market is going to crash soon. The pandemic boom was a reminder that investors can convince themselves of just about anything. Even though central banks have hiked benchmark interest rates aggressively, the U.S. government is still spending like crazy, which ultimately injects liquidity into the financial system. “We have to accept the fact that this cycle is very different from others because of the gargantuan fiscal stimulus,” Mr. McCreath said.
Last week, CN reported its latest quarterly earnings and pushed out its expectations for an economic recovery into 2024, telling analysts their clients have warned that shipments would remain weak for the next two quarters.