Barlow’s Research Roundup: Two Changes to Scotiabank Strategist’s Top 30 Canadian Stock Picks List
Canadian market strategists are maintaining a largely risk-on stance despite mixed signals across sectors, with energy, banks and technology continuing to lead earnings revision trends after the first-quarter reporting season. Scotiabank strategist Jean-Michel Gauthier made only two changes to his Canada Top 30 list for June, replacing RUS with SII, while the broader positioning remained heavily tilted toward cyclical names. Energy is still the largest sector in the list, followed by gold miners, industrials, consumer discretionary and financials. The updated roster includes companies such as Parex Resources, Athabasca Oil, Cenovus Energy, Tamarack Valley Energy, Peyto Exploration & Development, Allied Gold, Centerra Gold, Bird Construction, Russel Metals, Finning, Magna, TD Bank and CIBC.
Gauthier said banks, energy and tech remain the clear earnings revision leaders, reinforcing a cyclical bias in the market. He noted that other cyclical sectors are still struggling to produce positive revisions, while gold miners have seen a slowdown as bullion prices have moved sideways. He also pointed out that long-term growth expectations for extended technology names have climbed to record highs on the back of artificial intelligence enthusiasm. Even so, he argued that technology valuations have already compressed meaningfully in 2026 and remain below the peaks seen during the dot-com era and the 2020-2021 period, leaving room for multiple expansion to keep supporting the trade.
Copper markets are presenting a more complicated picture. RBC Capital Markets analyst Sam Crittenden said prices have continued to rise, with copper up 12% year to date to about $6.33 per pound, as investors position for the possibility of a major supply disruption if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and limits sulfur flows that affect global supply. He said Chinese demand has also been firm, supported by stronger physical premia and falling inventories, while U.S. tariff concerns are keeping the Comex-LME spread elevated. RBC remains constructive on copper fundamentals, but expects volatility as the market reacts to binary geopolitical and supply events. The firm kept its forecast at $6.00 per pound for the second quarter of 2026 and $5.75 in the second half. Among preferred names, RBC highlighted First Quantum, Capstone Copper and Hudbay Minerals.
In the United States, BofA Securities strategist Savita Subramanian described May as a risk-on month, with the S&P 500 up 5.3% on a total return basis. However, market breadth remained narrow, as only about a quarter of stocks outperformed the index and mega-cap names led gains. Information technology was the standout sector, rising 15.9% in price terms, while energy and utilities were the weakest performers for the month. Despite May’s tech dominance, energy remains the best-performing sector year to date, just ahead of technology, while financials and health care are the only sectors in negative territory.
A separate market note highlighted that semiconductor stocks are trading far above their 200-day moving average, a level not seen since the dot-com bubble. Another item pointed to an OpenAI model solving a famous math problem that had resisted human solution for 80 years.
