Futures lower, inflation spikes in Canada, Tesla falls again, Google buys Wiz, coal is great again
Our latest episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar is out! Find out why American investor Cole Smead of Smead Capital Management loves Canadian energy stocks. One of our viewers called him the American Eric Nuttall. That’s not quite true – he doesn’t run an energy fund, he can go anywhere. Right now, he’s going to Canadian energy because he says its one of the best buying opportunities in the last decade. Find out why! Listen on Apple, Spotify or here.
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Relief: Every day without a tariff announcement is a good day in the markets. Yesterday, US and Canadian equities rallied for a second session in a row. This morning, futures are lower as tensions flare up in the Middle East and concerns about slowing economic growth take hold. Oil prices are up after Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Gaza after a two-month ceasefire. Gold prices hit another record high and crossed above $3,030/oz on the back of these tensions and as data shows slowing consumer growth in the US (retail sales yesterday). Today all eyes will be on Nvidia’s Jensen Huang who makes his keynote address at 1pmET. No doubt he will be bullish on the prospects of their latest AI chips, question will be whether it matters for investors. Nvidia is down 20% from its all-time high in January as the love affair with tech stocks has fizzled. After the bell watch for Alimentation Couche-Tard earnings and any colour about its hot pursuit of 7/eleven owner Seven & i. The stock is trading around a 1.5 year low. FYI Cole Smead said on the podcast he would buy here.
Inflatable: Canadian inflation rose to the highest level since June 2024. Canadian inflation spiked to 2.6% in February, well above the 2.2% expected. Without the tax break (which ended mid-way through the month) headline inflation would have been 3%. Yet the Bank of Canada just cut rates last week for the seventh time in a row and many economists expect more rate cuts this year. “Overall, the unexpected pickup in core measures isn’t good news as this doesn’t yet reflect the impact of tariffs, which will see headline CPI exceed 3% y/y in the coming months,” wrote CIBC’s Katherine Judge.
Quick charge: Shares of Chinese EV maker BYD surged to an all-time high overnight after unveiling new fast-charge technology. BYD claims it now only takes 5 minutes to charge up their cars for 400km range. This would be half the time it takes to super charge a Tesla. Shares of Tesla are under pressure as a result, falling 3.5% in the pre-market. Shares of Tesla have massively underperformed so far in 2025, while BYD looks like its mirror opposite.
Wiz kid: Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is buying cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion. The deal is significant for a couple of reasons. One, it is the largest deal ever by Google. Two, it represents a nearly $10 billion jump in the price tag after Google attempted to buy the Israeli-based company last year for $23 billion. Third, it will be a test of how much regulations have eased with Lina Khan out as FTC chair. Wiz competes with other cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler. Shares of Alphabet are down slightly in the pre-market. “In our view with Lina Khan gone at the FTC,” wrote Dan Ives of Wedbush, “The M&A engines are back underway in Big Tech after a dark period for tech M&A.” Analysts believe Wiz has about $500 million in annual revenue.
Make coal great again: US President Donald Trump is bringing back coal. “I am authorizing my Administration to immediately begin producing Energy with BEAUTIFUL, CLEAN COAL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Shares of coal producers like Peabody Energy (+4%), Alliance Resource Partners (+2%), Core Natural Resources (+1%) are all higher in the pre-market.
