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Rate rise could derail rally – Metro US

Rate rise could derail rally

The Toronto stock market is likely set for another series of gains this week as the spring rally, which is into a fourth month, continues to send stocks higher — but confidence is starting to get a shake from worries about higher interest rates.

The main TSX index ran ahead 0.7 per cent last week, adding up to a stunning 41 per cent charge from the lows of March 9 in increasing confidence of an economic rebound by the end of the year.

Concerns about higher rates may sound strange at a time when central banks in Canada, the United States and other countries have slashed rates to practically zero.

But rising bond yields, particularly in the United States, have the potential to derail the rally, which has also sent the Dow Jones industrials surging about 34 per cent. The S&P 500 has gained almost 40 per cent since the market bottomed in early March.

“I think it’s definitely the wild card,” said Andrew Pyle, investment adviser with ScotiaMcLeod in Peterborough.