June 20, 2008 at 12:00 pm by Tom Lydon
Canada may have a close proximity to the United States, but the exposure to these markets has remained low, giving the Canadian dollar and the exchange traded fund (ETF) some strength.
Canada has not been entirely immune or void from the global credit crisis or the liquidity problems, but the Canadian stocks have remained healthy, especially those in natural resources and commodities, reports Mark Purdy for ETF Express. The prolonged demand for commodities mixed with the supply issues should continue to hold up the TSX benchmark.
The iShares MSCI Canada (EWC) may be seeing higher numbers because of the recent run-up in corn. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is the largest maker of crop nutrients and is already up 62.1% year-to-date. The company has also been boosted by its increased profit forecast, says John Kipphoff for Bloomberg.
Potash (POT) holds 4.9% of assets in EWC. Corn and soybeans rose to their records after the recent floods in the midwestern United States.
Suncor Energy (SU) has been boosted by sky-high grain and oil prices. Suncor is 4.4% of EWC. Year-to-date, the fund is up 7%.
Tags | Agriculture, Canada, Corn, Energy, EWC
