Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)Sami Siva
A new report from CIBC World Markets says that a hike in the Bank of Canada rate this summer should not derail the stock market.
The report says stocks have historically outperformed bonds in the early months in the 13 interest rate tightening cycles studied by the investment firm.
CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld says that means it's not yet time for equity investors to hit the sell button.
He says hikes in interest rates tend to be more damaging later in the cycle, when the central bank is more willing to risk stalling the economy.
Canada's central bank is widely expected to begin hiking its key interest rates in late June or July after keeping them at historic lows for more than a year.
The main stock indexes have also recovered much of the ground they lost during the 2008-09 global downturn.