Brian Madden's Top Picks: May 18, 2023

Top picks from Brian Madden, chief investment officer, First Avenue Investment Counsel

FOCUS: North American equities 

MARKET OUTLOOK:

With first-quarter earnings mostly behind us, the S&P 500 and S&P TSX Composite Index have been resilient in digesting the second quarter of earnings recession. TSX returns at five per cent are lower than S&P 500 returns at eight per cent. However, the distribution of returns is broad-based in Canada versus narrow in the U.S. The median S&P 500 stock is unchanged year to date whereas the median TSX stock is plus five per cent.