Hemisphere Capital Management Inc.

Newsletter

Extraordinary Times

In the quickest meltdown in financial history, global equities experienced their worst quarterly performance since the 2008-09 financial crisis. While the Canadian stock market declined almost 24%, U.S. stock markets dropped 16% in Canadian dollar terms.

Many investors initially believed the coronavirus pandemic would primarily affect China. As it quickly spread, governments in most developed countries responded by shutting down major parts of their economies and issuing stay-at-home orders. Ultimately, these government actions delivered an unprecedented shock to global financial markets.