Market Outlook: Scotiabank, Whitecap and Home Depot beat earnings estimates

Banks, retailers and energy firms beat estimates, but concerns about consumer strength and AI volatility temper the outlook.

BNN Bloomberg spoke with Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X Investments Canada, who said strength in capital markets, wealth management and energy production helped lift results, but warned that future gains could be more muted amid housing, unemployment and AI-related uncertainty.

Read the full transcript below:

ANDREW: We’re tracking a whole bunch of earnings. Scotiabank beating expectations. Whitecap topping guidance. Raymond James raising the price target there. Let’s get more from Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X Investments Canada. Brooke, great to see you, and thanks for joining us. Give us your thoughts on Bank of Nova Scotia, please.

BROOKE: Well, they were decent earnings because they were right across the board with all divisions, really. The divisions that were carrying the big weight were capital markets and wealth management, so the consumer loans really weren’t particularly strong. And you can’t go against these earnings. I mean, they’re good, but the Canadian banks have actually done so well for so long, and these earnings were largely based upon a lot of cuts being made. They actually just slightly underperformed on their revenue. So I think the Canadian banks from here — and Bank of Nova Scotia has done so well, they’ve outperformed the market — but I think we’re probably not going to see that continued strong outperformance from this point.

ANDREW: Broadly speaking, you think the banks — they’ve done so well, as you say, over a year and a half — but you don’t see further gangbuster gains?