Market Overview
The second quarter of 2024 saw a continuation of the key themes from the first quarter, as strength in public equity markets was led largely by artificial intelligence related companies. Even the utilities sector enjoyed an AI-related boost given expectations that more data centres should lead to increased electricity demand.
Regionally, emerging markets equities led the advance given heavy exposure to semiconductor-related businesses, most notably via Taiwan’s stock market. Similarly, U.S. growth stocks surged lifting the results of the broader U.S. market while performance was more modest in Europe, and negative in Japan after adjusting for the depreciating yen.
The Canadian equity market also faced headwinds from a more challenging growth outlook. The Bank of Canada diverged from the U.S. Federal Reserve and began reducing policy interest rates during the quarter. In Canada, a surprise move higher for inflation near…
