In the first quarter of 2026, the S&P/TSX rose by 3.9%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell by 4.3%. The MSCI ACWI ex USA saw the lowest decrease of 0.6% compared to the other two.
At the end of the 12-month period ending March 31, the S&P/TSX had an incredible performance of 34.8%. The S&P 500 grew by 17.8%, while the MSCI ACWI ex USA experienced an increase of 25.6%.
The NQICAT outperformed this quarter and reported a quarterly performance increase of 4.2%, and on an annual basis, it grew by 22.6%.
The top-performing TSX sectors for the first quarter included Energy, which was up by 42.4%, Utilities, which was up by 11.2%, and Materials, which was up by 10.7%.
Most sectors growth was positive, with IT, HealthCare, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials being the exceptions, as IT declined by 19.5%, HealthCare declined by 6.1%, and Consumer Discretionary saw a decline of 2.2%.
The leading quarterly performers in NQICAT was Imperial Oil (IMO.TO), which reported an incredible increase of 54.3%, followed by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ.TO) with a growth of 47.2%, and DPM Metals Inc. (DPM.TO) with a growth of 15.6%.
On the other hand, the underperformers in NQICAT included goeasy Ltd. (GSY.TO), which reported a decline of 69.8%, Constellation Software Inc. (CSU.TO), which decreased by 26.0%, and Dollarama Inc. (DOL.TO), which saw a drop of 16.7%.