Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
It has been exactly one year since the commodity supercycle hit a wall.
This time last year, investors were giddy, riding high on the S&P/TSX Composite Index's 10-month rally. During the run, the TSX went from close to 11,000, all the way up to 14,270.
But just as so many people feared, the wheels ultimately fell off the bus, and the TSX took a nosedive when investors realized they had gotten too far ahead of themselves. 12 months later, the TSX sits around 12,100, marking a 15 per cent loss for the past year.
Despite the drop, there have been some real winners. Leading the pack, Argonaut Gold has jumped 72 per cent in the past year, while Banro Corp. popped 67 per cent. Outside of resources, Dollarama Inc. is up 60 per cent and Westport Innovations has climbed 53 per cent.
For the losers, two gold names share the top prize: Lake Shore Gold and Great Basin Gold , both down 76 per cent over the past year. Next up is that Canadian darling, Research in Motion , which lost 75 per cent of its value.
Looking at whole sectors, it's no surprise that materials and energy are the worst performers, losing 27 and 22 per cent, respectively. Both were propped up the supercycle, and both have since crashed.
Telecom and consumer staples were the winning sectors, with telecom up 13 per cent and consumer staples climbing 9 per cent higher. REITs also did well. On a straight capital return, the index jumped just under 9 per cent, but these names also pay out big yields so the total return is much higher.
And while the TSX hasn't been hot overall, new equity issuance has been strong in 2012. From January to March, $11.2-billion was raised in Canada, according to Thomson Reuters. During the same period in 2011, $9.6-billion was raised, and that was when the market was on fire.
Tim Kiladze