2024 Half-Year Recap | 10 Dividend-Monster Stocks in Canadian Market

Moomoo News Canada wrote a column · Jun 25 08:52

Statistics Canada released the inflation report for May on Wednesday, showing a surprising uptick in the country's yearly inflation rate to 2.9% for the month, exceeding the forecasted figure of 2.7%. This development might shake the market's anticipation of a rate cut coming in July. Nonetheless, the data aligns with the Bank of Canada's target range for inflation control, set at 1%-3%. Before the report's release, market consensus had been that the Bank of Canada was on track to cut interest rates by a cumulative 100 basis points across four cuts in 2024. Following the release, the market now still predicts further cuts within the year, although the specifics regarding frequency and scale will hinge on upcoming data.

Amidst rising interest rates, investors have been drawn to alternative income-generating assets such as bonds and guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). With trillions of dollars sitting in the U.S. retirement accounts in cash, the downward trend in interest rates could erode the returns on these cash holdings, compelling investors to seek out other avenues, particularly dividend stocks, which promise more attractive yields.

Within the Canadian market, we have highlighted the top 10 companies with the best performance year-to-date, each with a market capitalization over C$10 billion and a dividend yield high enough to place them among the top 35. $Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.CA)$ has distinguished itself with a remarkable 22.9% increase in its stock price since the beginning of the year, alongside a robust dividend yield of 4.5% as of June 24. It emerges as the leading high-yield dividend stock in Canada, sustaining considerable yields while simultaneously experiencing a rise in stock price.