Monthly Market Overview March 2026
LAST MONTH’S ECONOMIC EVENTS
- U.S. Employment increased by 130,000 Jobs
- U.S. Unemployment Rate Decreased to 4.3%
- Canadian Employment Decreased by -24,800 Jobs
- Canada’s Unemployment Rate Decreased to 6.5%
- U.S. Annual Inflation Rate Decreased to 2.4%
- Canada’s Annual Inflation Rate Decreased to 2.3%
- U.S. Monthly Retail Sales Unchanged at 0.0%
- Canada’s Monthly Retail Sales Increased by 1.5%
- U.S. Fourth Quarter GDP Growth Rate Initial Estimate Decreased to 1.4%
- Canada’s Fourth Quarter GDP Growth Rate Decreased to -0.2%
THIS MONTH’S UPCOMING ECONOMIC EVENTS
- March 6: U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics Non-Farm Payroll (8:30)
- March 6: U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics Unemployment Rate (8:30)
- March 6: U.S. Census Bureau Retail Sales (8:30)
- March 11: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Inflation Rate (8:30)
- March 13: Statistics Canada Employment Change (8:30)
- March 13: Statistics Canada Unemployment Rate (8:30)
- March 13: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Fourth Quarter GDP Quarterly Growth Rate Second Estimate (8:30)
- March 16: Statistics Canada Inflation Rate (8:30)
- March 18: U.S. Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision (14:00)
- March 18: Bank of Canada Interest Rate Decision (8:45)
- March 20: Statistics Canada Retail Sales (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 February 2026) | ||||
| Monthly Change | 2026 Change | 12 Month Change | Ending Value | |
| GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS | ||||
| S&P/TSX Composite (Canada) | 7.57% | 8.28% | 35.23% | 34339.99 |
| Dow Jones Industrial Avg. (U.S) | 0.17% | 1.9% | 11.72% | 48977.92 |
| S&P 500 (U.S.) | -0.87% | 0.49% | 15.52% | 6878.88 |
| Nasdaq Composite (U.S.) | -3.38% | -2.47% | 20.27% | 22668.21 |
| FTSE 100 (U.K) | 6.72% | 9.86% | 23.85% | 10910.55 |
| Dax (Germany) | 3.04% | 3.24% | 12.12% | 25284.26 |
| CAC 40 (France) | 5.59% | 5.29% | 5.78% | 8580.75 |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 10.37% | 16.91% | 58.39% | 58850.27 |
| Nifty 50 (India) | -0.56% | -3.64% | 13.8% | 25178.65 |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 1.09% | 4.89% | 25.35% | 4162.88 |
| Hang Seng Index (Hong Kong) | -2.76% | 3.9% | 16.08% | 26630.54 |
| BOND YIELDS & MORTGAGE RATE (UNITED STATES) | ||||
| 1 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | -0.16% | -0.03% | -15.64% | 3.471% |
| 2 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | -4.32% | -2.74% | -16.75% | 3.38% |
| 5 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | -7.93% | -5.98% | -14.22% | 3.504% |
| 10 Year Treasury Bill Yield – U.S. | -7.2% | -5.26% | -7.58% | 3.949% |
| 30 Year Mortgage Rate (Average) – U.S. | -1.1% | -1.76% | -10.33% | 6.143% |
| BOND YIELDS & PRIME RATE (CANADA) | ||||
| 1 Year Bond Yield – Canada | -2.62% | -4.91% | -16.71% | 2.303% |
| 2 Year Bond Yield – Canada | -7.08% | -7.54% | -8.13% | 2.389% |
| 5 Year Bond Yield – Canada | -9.53% | -10.49% | -2.65% | 2.604% |
| 10 Year Bond Yield – Canada | -8.91% | -8.95% | 4.93% | 3.125% |
| Prime Rate – Canada | 0.0% | 0.0% | -14.42% | 4.45% |
| CURRENCY RATES | ||||
| Canada/US Dollar | -0.21% | 0.57% | 5.79% | $0.733 |
| Euro/US Dollar | -0.29% | 0.61% | 13.63% | $1.182 |
| US Dollar/Indian Rupee | -0.97% | 1.34% | 4.34% | ₹ 91.081 |
| US Dollar Japanese Yen | 0.83% | -0.4% | 4.17% | ¥156.056 |
| US Dollar/Chinese Yuan | -1.35% | -1.94% | -5.87% | ¥6.858 |
| Bitcoin/USD | -22.11% | -25.13% | -22.55% | $65,542.00 |
| FOODS/GRAINS | ||||
| Coffee ($USD/lbs.) | -15.71% | -19.7% | -25.04% | $2.801 |
| Cocoa ($USD/Metric Ton) | -30.42% | -52.22% | -68.69% | $2,898.000 |
| Orange Juice ($USD/lbs.) | -15.21% | -11.03% | -39.28% | $1.790 |
| Sugar ($USD/lbs.) | -2.45% | -7.26% | -26.31% | $0.139 |
| Wheat (USD/Bushel) | 9.94% | 16.67% | 5.16% | $5.915 |
| Corn ($USD/Bushel) | 4.67% | 1.82% | -6.81% | $4.483 |
| Oats ($USD/Bushel) | 4.32% | 5.79% | -14.15% | $3.200 |
| Milk ($USD/lbs.) | 5.5% | 7.1% | -14.21% | $0.163 |
| MATERIALS | ||||
| Lumber ($USD/1000 Board feet) | -6.06% | 3.62% | -11.5% | $558.000 |
| Cotton ($USD/lbs.) | 3.78% | 2.01% | -1.56% | $0.656 |
| ENERGY | ||||
| Crude Oil (WTI – $USD/Barrel) | 3.02% | 17.0% | -4.51% | $67.180 |
| Natural Gas ($USD/MM British Thermal Units) | -34.34% | -8.66% | -27.33% | $2.859 |
| METALS | ||||
| Gold ($USD/Troy Ounce) | 11.65% | 22.04% | 82.94% | $5,297.800 |
| Silver ($USD/Troy Ounce) | 20.19% | 33.68% | 193.94% | $94.385 |
| Copper ($USD/lbs.) | 2.23% | 6.58% | 31.12% | $6.056 |
| Aluminum ($USD/Metric Ton) | 0.03% | 3.35% | 18.31% | $3,071.750 |
| Steel ($USD/Metric Ton) | -2.57% | -1.26% | -7.79% | $3,066.000 |
| REAL ESTATE | ||||
| Greater Toronto – Real Estate (Composite)1 | -0.8% | -0.8% | -8.1% | $935,200.000 |
| Canada – Real Estate (Composite)1 | -0.3% | -0.3% | -4.9% | $658,300.000 |
| COLLECTIBLES | ||||
| Fine Wine 100 Index2 | 0.0% | -0.1% | -1.2% | 319.8 |
| 1 Canadian Real Estate Association Composite Prices ending January 30, 2026. 2 Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index ending February 27, 2026. * Data provided by FactSet unless otherwise stated as of February 27, 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 Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1S2 T: 647-429-3281 ext. 240018 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. |
Leave a Reply