Let’s look at the 2023 second quarter market review

Common Cents with Jacob Gaudet

In the second quarter of the year, U.S. equities performed strongly, there were mixed results for Canadian and international equities, bond yields rose, and interest rates continued to climb.

The rally in U S equities was largely driven higher on what many would call an AIfuelled rally. On the other hand, Canadian equities experienced only a slight gain, due to lower commodity prices, particularly oil.

International

Equities

remained relatively flat during the quarter; underperformance from Europe and the U K was balanced by Japan's equity index reaching its highest value since 1990.

North America bond yields rose as inflation continued to trend downwards (albeit slower than central bankers would have liked). The Bank of England, Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve all

Fears of a looming recession have led to lower commodity prices, which, along with rising interest rates, pose additional challenges to Canada's year-end outlook However, the lower valuation of the S&P/TSX Composite Index would suggest these conditions may already be factored in, says Jacob Gaudet, Associate Consultant on the wealth advisory team Gaudet Group Private Wealth Management

Raised Interest Rates This Quarter

The difference in yield between the Canadian and U.S. 2-year government bonds decreased by 20 basis points, contributing to the Loonie gaining value over the U S dollar

Canadian equities

The S&P/TSX Composite Index had a modest gain of 0.28%. A key positive contribution came from the IT sector, with an increase of over 16%. This offset much of the underperformance from the other sectors, specifically the real estate sector and materials companies (which saw a drop in precious metal prices, including gold).

Positive contributions during the quarter came from Air Canada and Shopify, which gained 30.5% and 32.1% respectively, as consumers continued to drive performance in retail spending and travel.

U.S. equities

The S&P 500 Index was flat through the first two months of the quarter, with most of the gains coming in June; it ended the quarter at +8.30% (+5.95% in Canadian dollar terms). The IT and consumer discretionary sectors were the main contributors, while the utilities and energy sectors lagged.

Earlier concerns about the regional banking sector’s liquidity mostly subsided, as financials gained 4 83% during the quarter

IT stocks gained 16.93% (in U.S. dollars), with a broad cross-section of companies gaining. Nvidia led in tech stocks this quarter (+52.29%), bringing its year-to-date return to 189%.

International equities

The Europe, Australasia and Far East (EAFE) Index saw modest gains of 1 87% in U S dollar terms (-1 04% in Canadian dollars).

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