(Reuters) - Canada's Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) on Wednesday reported investment losses and a drop in net assets for the first six months of the year, as aggressive rate hikes triggered turbulence across stock and bond markets.
As of June 30, net assets for Canada's second-largest pension fund stood at $392 billion, lower than the $419.8 billion at the end of last year.
CDPQ's investments lost 7.9% in value during the period, compared with a 5.6% return in the same period last year, when easy fiscal policies propelled stock prices to record highs.
"The first six months of the year were very challenging," Chief Executive Officer Charles Emond said, adding that the unstable conditions would persist for some time.
Last week, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board also reported a drop in net assets in the first quarter as market turmoil weighed on returns from its funds.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Divya Rajagopal in Toronto; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
