July 2020 Pricing Commentary

The summer 2020 stock market rally extended into the month of July showing powerful strength despite uncertain global economic activity, continued COVID-19 outbreaks, and an undecided US Presidential election.

Positively impacting common stock prices were low and still declining interest rates, excellent quarterly earnings results from “stay at home economy” stocks, and the relative attraction of higher yielding, large capitalization common shares versus other asset classes. Of significant importance were the late month financial results from Apple, Amazon, and Facebook, which surpassed analyst forecasts. In fact, a completely unexpected 4 for 1 stock split by Apple energized its shares to a 16.5% gain for the month. We expect this positive momentum to continue.

Of note, all five ABC Funds appreciated over 5% for the month, enabling our portfolios to outperform their index benchmarks for both the month and year-to-date periods. Outstanding ABC Canadian stock holdings during July included Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Northland Power, and Waste Connections. Top performing US securities included: Amazon, Apple, Alibaba, Becton Dickinson, Danaher, Facebook, NVIDIA, Roper Technologies, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Irwin A. Michael, President
I.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd.