Monthly Market Overview April 2026
LAST MONTH’S ECONOMIC EVENTS
- U.S. Employment Decreased by -92,000 Jobs
- U.S. Unemployment Rate Increased to 4.4%
- Canadian Employment Decreased by -83,900 Jobs
- Canada’s Unemployment Rate Increased to 6.7%
- U.S. Annual Inflation Rate Unchanged at 2.4%
- Canada’s Annual Inflation Rate Decreased to 1.8%
- U.S. Monthly Retail Sales Decreased by -0.2%
- Canada’s Monthly Retail Sales Increased by 0.9%
- U.S. Fourth Quarter GDP Growth Rate Second Estimate Decreased to 0.7%
- U.S. Federal Funds Rate Unchanged at 3.75%
- Canada’s Overnight Rate Unchanged at 2.25%
THIS MONTH’S UPCOMING ECONOMIC EVENTS
- April 3: U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics Non-Farm Payroll (8:30)
- April 3: U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics Unemployment Rate (8:30)
- April 9: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Fourth Quarter GDP Quarterly Growth Rate Final Estimate (8:30)
- April 10: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Inflation Rate (8:30)
- April 10: Statistics Canada Employment Change (8:30)
- April 10: Statistics Canada Unemployment Rate (8:30)
- April 20: Statistics Canada Inflation Rate (8:30)
- April 21: U.S. Census Bureau Retail Sales (8:30)
- April 24: Statistics Canada Retail Sales (8:30)
- April 30: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis First Quarter 2026 GDP Quarterly Growth Rate Initial Estimate (8:30)
1 (Source: Bank of Canada)
2(Source: Statistics Canada)
3(Source: United States Bureau of Labour Statistics)
4(Source: United States Bureau of Economic Analysis)
5(Source: United States Federal Reserve)
6(Source: United Census Bureau)
| Last Month’s Market Activity (for March 2026) | ||||
| Monthly Change | 2026 Change | 12 Month Change | Ending Value | |
| GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS | ||||
| S&P/TSX Composite (Canada) | -4.58% | 3.33% | 31.51% | 32768.04 |
| Dow Jones Industrial Avg. (U.S) | -5.38% | -3.58% | 10.33% | 46341.51 |
| S&P 500 (U.S.) | -5.09% | -4.63% | 16.33% | 6528.52 |
| Nasdaq Composite (U.S.) | -4.75% | -7.11% | 24.81% | 21590.63 |
| FTSE 100 (U.K) | -6.73% | 2.47% | 18.57% | 10176.45 |
| Dax (Germany) | -10.3% | -7.39% | 2.33% | 22680.04 |
| CAC 40 (France) | -8.9% | -4.08% | 0.34% | 7816.94 |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | -13.23% | 1.44% | 43.37% | 51063.72 |
| Nifty 50 (India) | -11.31% | -14.54% | -5.05% | 22331.40 |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | -6.51% | -1.94% | 16.67% | 3891.86 |
| Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) | -6.92% | -3.29% | 7.22% | 24788.14 |
| BOND YIELDS & MORTGAGE RATE (UNITED STATES) | ||||
| 1 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | 5.03% | 5.16% | -9.08% | 3.651% |
| 2 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | 11.19% | 8.38% | -3.22% | 3.766% |
| 5 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | 11.42% | 5.12% | -0.92% | 3.918% |
| 10 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | 8.46% | 3.06% | 2.04% | 4.296% |
| 30 Year Mortgage Rate (Average) – U.S. | 5.7% | 3.49% | -4.44% | 6.471% |
| BOND YIELDS & PRIME RATE (CANADA) | ||||
| 1 Year Bond Yield – Canada | 13.16% | 8.26% | 2.38% | 2.622% |
| 2 Year Bond Yield – Canada | 17.66% | 9.52% | 14.03% | 2.83% |
| 5 Year Bond Yield – Canada | 17.85% | 5.91% | 18.23% | 3.081% |
| 10 Year Bond Yield – Canada | 10.68% | 1.08% | 15.64% | 3.469% |
| Prime Rate – Canada | 0.0% | 0.0% | -10.1% | 4.45% |
| CURRENCY RATES | ||||
| Canada/US Dollar | -1.86% | -1.27% | 3.52% | $0.719 |
| Euro/US Dollar | -2.03% | -1.46% | 7.01% | $1.157 |
| US Dollar/Indian Rupee | 2.65% | 4.01% | 9.39% | ₹ 93.485 |
| US Dollar Japanese Yen | 1.75% | 1.35% | 5.88% | ¥158.789 |
| US Dollar/Chinese Yuan | 0.59% | -1.35% | -4.94% | ¥6.899 |
| Bitcoin/USD | 3.49% | -22.13% | -17.27% | $68,167.00 |
| FOODS/GRAINS | ||||
| Coffee ($USD/lbs.) | 6.09% | -14.59% | -21.57% | $2.979 |
| Cocoa ($USD/Metric Ton) | 13.26% | -46.07% | -58.61% | $3,271.000 |
| Orange Juice ($USD/lbs.) | 4.74% | -5.52% | -21.95% | $1.901 |
| Sugar ($USD/lbs.) | 11.66% | 3.33% | -17.76% | $0.155 |
| Wheat (USD/Bushel) | 4.82% | 22.29% | 15.46% | $6.200 |
| Corn ($USD/Bushel) | 2.45% | 4.37% | 0.49% | $4.595 |
| Oats ($USD/Bushel) | 9.62% | 15.87% | 1.23% | $3.505 |
| Milk ($USD/lbs.) | 6.76% | 14.19% | -0.17% | $0.174 |
| MATERIALS | ||||
| Lumber ($USD/1000 Board feet) | 9.23% | 13.18% | -8.76% | $609.500 |
| Cotton ($USD/lbs.) | 6.66% | 8.88% | 4.71% | $0.700 |
| ENERGY | ||||
| Crude Oil (WTI – $USD/Barrel) | 52.58% | 78.09% | 43.06% | $102.260 |
| Natural Gas ($USD/MM British Thermal Units) | 0.42% | -8.27% | -30.3% | $2.871 |
| METALS | ||||
| Gold ($USD/Troy Ounce) | -9.74% | 9.11% | 50.35% | $4,736.500 |
| Silver ($USD/Troy Ounce) | -19.4% | 6.5% | 117.26% | $75.195 |
| Copper ($USD/lbs.) | -6.96% | -0.77% | 12.0% | $5.638 |
| Aluminum ($USD/Metric Ton) | 10.52% | 13.2% | 35.9% | $3,364.500 |
| Steel ($USD/Metric Ton) | 2.52% | 1.0% | -1.17% | $3,136.000 |
| REAL ESTATE | ||||
| Greater Toronto – Real Estate (Composite)1 | 0.4% | -1.4% | -7.9% | $938,800.000 |
| Canada – Real Estate (Composite)1 | 0.5% | -0.5% | -4.8% | $661,300.000 |
| COLLECTIBLES | ||||
| Fine Wine 100 Index2 | 0.47% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 321.3 |
| 1 Canadian Real Estate Association Composite Prices ending February 28, 2026. 2 Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index ending February 28, 2026. * Data provided by FactSet unless otherwise stated as of March 31, 2026 4:30 PM EST.* This information has been prepared by Desmond Rubie, BCom, FCSI®, CIM®, CFP®, who is a Wealth Advisor for Rubie Wealth Management Group at iA Private Wealth.*Opinions expressed in this article are those of Desmond Rubie, BCom, FCSI®, CIM®, CFP® only and do not necessarily reflect those of iA Private Wealth Inc. *IA Private Wealth Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. iA Private Wealth is a trademark and business name under which iA Private Wealth Inc. operates.  Desmond Rubie, BCom, FCSI®, CIM®, CFP® Wealth Advisor Rubie Wealth Management Group | iA Private Wealth Insurance Advisor | iA Private Wealth Insurance* 26 Wellington Street East, 2nd FloorToronto, ON M5E 1S2 T: 647-429-3281 ext. 240018 | M: 416-795-6100 Desmond.Rubie@iaprivatewealth.ca Schedule a Meeting rubiewealth.com iaprivatewealth.ca Fellow of CSI (FCSI®) iA Private Wealth Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. iA Private Wealth is a trademark and business name under which iA Private Wealth Inc. operates. *Insurance products are provided through iA Private Wealth Insurance, which is a trade name of PPI Management Inc. Only products and services offered through iA Private Wealth Inc. are covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. |
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