The S&P/TSX Total Return Index declined by 0.9% in October, the S&P 500 rose by 2.2% and the MSCI ACWI ex. USA rose by 3.5%. At October end, the YTD S&P/TSX Total Return Index was up 18.1% which was lower than the S&P500 23.2% increase but higher than the MSCI ACWI ex. USA return of 16.0%.
The market made new highs in October as trade disputes concerns were dissipating and Q3 financial results were coming in line to better than expected. At month’s end, the US 10-year treasury yields were firming up in both the US and Canadian markets. The best TSX sector in October was Materials up 2.9%, followed by Industrials, up 1%. On the contrary, the worst performing sector was Health Care principally due to the poor performance of the Cannabis sector.
Looking more specifically at INOC, the best performers in October were Norbord (+19.7%), the Canadian manufacturer of wood-based products and leading producer of Oriented Strand Board. The next best performer was Equitable Group (+9.2%), %), a Canadian bank with the bulk of its business involved in the residential mortgages sector.
The NASDAQ Inovestor Canadian Equity Index YTD and Yearly returns stood at 20.2% and 14.7, ahead of the S&P TSX TR corresponding figures of 18.1% and 13.2%.
The Inovestor strategy was rebalanced in October. We increased exposure to the Industrials with the addition of Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. (RBA) and Evertz (ET). We also added Parkland Fuel Corporation (PKI) as their results are strengthening now that their strategic acquisitions are being successfully integrated.
We exited Bell Canada (BCE), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) and Linamar Corp (LNR). These were the holdings with the weakest economic value added (EVA) figures in their respective economic sector.
