Last Week Risers & Fallers:

• Nasdaq Composite  – The Nasdaq composite increased by 2.2% last week and gained 0.5% on Friday, closing at 14,897. The stock market was rallying this week, driven by stronger-than-expected earnings.

• Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA)  –  Tesla was up 3.02% on Friday, closing at $843.03 per share. The stock continued to gain another 0.7% in after-hours trading.

• Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA) –Moderna shares declined by2.73% Friday; this is mainly due to news about Moderna’s vaccine for adolescents aged 12 – 17 years being placed on hold by the FDA. The vaccine reportedly caused a rare side effect known as myocarditis, a heart inflammation.

• USDCAD – The USDCAD pair declined by 0.91% this week or 112 pips. The pair is currently trading at 1.2363.  The higher oil prices have helped the CAD gain strength this week.

Major events to watch:

• CANADA (CAD): Consumer Core CPI – The Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy. The CPI measures price change from the perspective of the consumer. It is a crucial way to measure changes in purchasing trends and inflation.  The September number was 0.2%, significantly lower than the previous month at 0.6%.

The report is due Wednesday, 20 October at 14:30 GMT+2

• USA (USD): Initial Jobless claims – Initial Jobless Claims measures the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week. This is the earliest US economic data, but the market impact varies from week to week. Last week’s number was 293,000, which was less than the expected 319,000, and an improvement on the previous week’s jobless claims number.

The report is due Thursday, 21 October at 14:30 GMT+2

• UK (GBP): Retail Sales (MoM) – Retail Sales measure the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level. It is the leading indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of overall economic activity.  The last retail sales change was -0.9% which is lower than the 0.5% forecast. However, the number was an improvement on the previous month’s, which was -2.8%.

The report is due Friday, 22 October at  08:00 GMT+2