After a strong first half of 2026, investors may be entering a quieter period as markets await second-quarter earnings and further signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve under Chair Kevin Warsh.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Michelle Connell, president and owner of Portia Capital Management, about the outlook for interest rates, valuations in SpaceX and opportunities she continues to see in semiconductors, travel and luxury stocks.
Key Takeaways
- Connell expects equities to pause after a strong rally, with investors likely waiting for second-quarter earnings reports beginning in mid-July.
- She expects U.S. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to maintain a relatively dovish stance, viewing recent inflation pressures as largely temporary and linked to higher energy and food costs.
- Connell believes Broadcom, Dell and Taiwan Semiconductor remain well positioned to benefit from the multiyear AI infrastructure and data centre buildout.
- She would avoid buying SpaceX after its sharp post-IPO surge, citing its valuation and rapid rise in market capitalization.
- Connell sees opportunities in travel and luxury stocks, including Ryanair and Brunello Cucinelli, while favouring international opportunities alongside U.S. investments.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: Traders are awaiting today’s Federal Reserve decision under new Chair Kevin Warsh, while SpaceX shares continue to climb as well. So, for more on the market outlook, we’re joined now by Michelle Connell, president and owner at Portia Capital Management. Thanks for joining us this morning.
MICHELLE: Thanks for having me, Lindsay.
LINDSAY: So, we’ve seen a strong run so far with the markets, especially in small caps and semiconductors. Do you think the markets are now at a pause, or is there still room for more momentum?
MICHELLE: I think we’re going to take a break here. I mean, we’ve moved so far so fast, and I think it’s time for us to kind of digest the gains, reflect. I think the market is going to wait to see how earnings wash out at the end of June, and earnings will start to report about July 14. So, I think between now and then, I think it’s going to be pretty placid.
LINDSAY: And we also just saw, like, a pretty strong earnings season. I wonder if you expect that to continue as well in the next round of earnings, particularly now we’ll start to see the effects of what that closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been doing to companies around the world.
MICHELLE: I think it will for some industries, and you have to be very specific with companies as well. There are some technology companies that will continue to grow between 30 and 50 per cent. On the other side, you’re going to have some consumer staple companies that will have flat to 10 per cent growth. So, it really depends on what sector and industry.
LINDSAY: Okay, so let’s talk about the Fed announcing its rate decision today under the new chair, Kevin Warsh. What key signals will you be watching for today?
MICHELLE: You know, he’s told us, Warsh has told us, that he believes in less-is-more communication, so we have to probably look even closer in terms of what’s said and not said. I expect that he is going to come out and still lean towards an easing, but it’ll be a wait-and-see, because the inflation that we’ve been experiencing here in the States, as well as in Canada, a lot of that is believed to be transitory or temporary because of what we’ve been going through in the Middle East, and higher oil prices and higher food prices. But we’ll see. So, I expect a more dovish approach at this point.
LINDSAY: Do you think there will be comments about the inflation surge that we’ve been seeing in the U.S.?
MICHELLE: I think they should. Whether they do or not, I don’t know, Lindsay, because we’re in a brand new ball game, right, with Warsh versus Powell. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how the communication changes for investments and markets, and maybe that may add some volatility as well if we don’t have as much clarity.
LINDSAY: Gotcha. Okay, so aside from the Fed, we’ve been watching SpaceX. Obviously, it’s been in the spotlight since its IPO last week. It’s up over 40 per cent since it went public. What are your thoughts on that? Would you step in and buy it at this point?
MICHELLE: I looked at it this morning, Lindsay. It’s almost up 50 per cent, which is crazy given how fast it has gone up. I’ve never seen anything like it versus previous IPOs, going back to the tech boom of the 2000s. Would I buy it here? Probably not, because now the company, in terms of market cap, is greater than Amazon. That also is an amazing prospect when you consider how long Amazon has been around and what a technology behemoth that company is. And SpaceX is trading at 100 times sales, and now Elon Musk, his net worth is greater than 83 per cent of the countries in the world, their GDP.
LINDSAY: Yeah, it’s been pretty phenomenal to see. So, obviously that’s not one of your picks today, but I do want to get to some of your stock picks before we run out of time here, because you have a couple. Broadcom is one that you say you’re seeing opportunity in right now. Tell us why.
MICHELLE: I was a semiconductor analyst in a prior life. I still think there’s some room to run in the technology stocks that have a lot of growth and that will continue to benefit from the buildout. I saw that your pension plan in Canada is looking at doing some investing in data centres. This buildout is going to have legs for a while, maybe up to between $8 trillion and $10 trillion between now and 2030. So, Broadcom, I like Taiwan Semiconductor, and I also like Dell because they’ll continue to benefit from this buildout.
LINDSAY: Yeah, okay. Dell, Taiwan Semiconductor, those were your other two. Ryanair is another one that you like right now. Why is that?
MICHELLE: I like some of the consumer discretionary stocks and travel stocks because, with the Strait of Hormuz potentially opening up, airlines will have less cost pressure. And I like this airline, I like their CEO, and I think he’s very good at running a lean-and-mean airline. But fuel is their number one cost, so I think they could benefit from the pullback, and plus they’re doing some expansions in terms of routes.
LINDSAY: Brunello Cucinelli, I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing that one right. That’s your last stock pick today. Tell us more about this one.
MICHELLE: I had to look that up on YouTube on how to pronounce that, so you’re not alone. Brunello Cucinelli, I like it because it’s a luxury stock. It looks cheap here, according to a lot of long-term retail analysts, and a lot of the luxury that had been being purchased in the Middle East and in the Far East had not — those purchases had been pulled back due to what’s been going on in Iran. This name, Louis Vuitton, had also been down like 30 per cent. I think you’re going to see some relief here.
LINDSAY: I wonder, I mean, most of these are obviously North American companies. Brunello Cucinelli is not, it’s European. How often do you look at companies overseas or in international markets?
MICHELLE: I do a lot, a lot, because there are a lot of really strong ADRs. I mean, contrary to popular belief, there are other investments besides the United States, and Canadians know that very well.
LINDSAY: Just before we wrap up here, you mentioned this: you’ve been a semiconductor analyst and a tech sector lead. What are your thoughts on investing in AI and the tech sector right now? We’ve seen tech stocks pulling back over the last couple of days.
MICHELLE: I still have a heavy exposure to that. Does that mean it’s the entire portfolio? No. But I’m continuing to have a core portfolio with semiconductors and other technology stocks around it because I think, as I said earlier, we’re going to continue to have this buildout for a while. So, look at it as the space version of railroads coming, or the new Industrial Revolution, and that’s what we have in front of us. And it’s going to take us a while to build that out. That also means you have to be nimble and look for growth opportunities as things can evolve over time with this technology buildout.
LINDSAY: Okay, we’ll leave it there for now. Michelle Connell, president and owner at Portia Capital Management. Always appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the June 17, 2026 interview with Michelle Connell are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
