Minuk's Musings and the Numbers

As we wrap up the first quarter of 2025, let’s take a look at how markets have performed so far this year.

 

Keeping politics out of this email (we get enough of that elsewhere!) let’s just drill down into the numbers.

 

The Markets Year-To-Date

 

Canadian TSX Index + 0.5%

USA S&P 500 Index – 5.0%

Euro Stoxx 50 Index +8.8%

 

The Best Performing Sectors in CAD and the USA

 

CAD Materials + 19.6%
The largest constituent here is a company called Agnico Eagle Mines, a gold producer that is + 39% this year. Gold prices have risen to USD3,000 per ounce, a welcomed relief for gold investors as the yellow metal’s performance has trailing US equities by a whopping 55% over 5 years, even after this latest run.

 

US Healthcare + 5.2%

Despite facing significant negative press, first from the tragic murder of their CEO and then from the subsequent public backlash that amplified frustrations with the US healthcare system, United Health Group, the largest constituent in the sector, managed to post positive stock performance this year of +3.3%. Meanwhile, another major player in the US healthcare sector, Eli Lilly, continues to stand out with returns of +7.2% year-to-date.

 

The Worst Performing Sectors in CAD and the USA

 

US Consumer Discretionary – 13.9%

This group includes several names that are directly impacted by the volatile political arena like GM, Ford and Tesla. The latter is down 34.7% this year which has been a drag on the performance of the entire sector.

 

US Technology – 12.7%

The largest name in the sector and the one that everyone loves to talk about is Nvidia, the global leader in designing semiconductors used for AI (artificial intelligence). The stock is down 18% this year but long-term holders seem not to be too concerned, as their 1-year return still sits at +22%.

 

…

 

If anything, the political rhetoric and market volatility we’ve experienced this year is a reminder to diversify our equity investments in different sectors.

 

Here are 2 charts from novelinvestor.com that showcases the annual returns for different sectors in the S&P500 from 2010 through 2024.

 

If the past 3 months is any indication, the 2025 ranking order will look quite different than it did in 2024.

 

 

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend.

 

Rich

Investment Advisor