March 24, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On March 24, 1989, one of the nation’s worst oil spills occurred as the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound and began leaking 11 million gallons of crude.
Go to article »

Bald eagles have bounced back.

Humpback whales are organizing in huge numbers, for unknown reasons. (h/t Scott Kominers) 

This list of fresh movie recommendations includes oddball genre movies and complex indie dramas.

The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things. –Plato.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Clocks of the art installation ‘Zeitfeld’ (time field) by German artist Klaus Rinke are seen in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on March 23, 2021. – Clocks in Germany will be changed to summer time and set back by one hour on Sunday
CREDIT: INA FASSBENDER/AFP GETTY IMAGES

Coloured powder is thrown over Hindu devotees in a traditional gathering during the Lathmar Holi celebrations, the spring festival of colours at a temple in Barsana, Uttar Pradesh, India
CREDIT: XAVIER GALIANA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Turtle Head Park in Wuxi city, Jiangsu Province, China, is let up for the Cherry Blossom Festival
CREDIT: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Two mad march hares do battle as they appear to be boxing each other in a field near Hitchin, Hertfordshire
CREDIT: MARTIN WEST/SOLENT NEWS

Waterfalls cascade down Uluru in Australia’s arid centre, rare phenomenon described by the national park social media as “unique and extraordinary”
CREDIT: STACY MACGREGOR VIA REUTERS

Market Closes for March 24^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 2000, the S&P 500 set a new record high of 1527.46, reaching a total market value of $12.931 trillion.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities reversed early gains Wednesday to close lower after a rout in growth-exposed stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2%, with tech and marijuana shares slumping. Energy and industrials rose. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will reach out to the European Commission after the European Union tightened vaccine export restrictions Wednesday. Oil surged the most since November as signs of stronger gasoline demand in the U.S. eased concerns around the global economic recovery from the pandemic.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,733.94 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.2577 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 1.469%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.2 percent, or 41.51 to 18,628.29 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since March 9. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.9 percent. Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.6 percent. Today, 150 of 231 shares fell, while 77 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 6.9 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.1 percent
* The index advanced 48 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 62 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.1 percent below its 52-week high on March 17, 2021 and 57.5 percent above its low on March 24, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.9 percent in the past 5 days and rose 0.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
27.5 on a trailing basis and 16.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.91t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 11.60 percent
compared with 11.59 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.58 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -72.0460| -3.8| 0/11
Materials | -20.5428| -0.9| 7/44
Health Care | -9.1767| -3.2| 2/8
Consumer Staples | -8.5803| -1.3| 0/13
Consumer Discretionary | -6.5719| -0.9| 3/10
Communication Services | -5.1292| -0.5| 1/7
Utilities | -1.0625| -0.1| 2/14
Real Estate | 3.6625| 0.6| 18/8
Financials | 10.0395| 0.2| 11/15
Industrials | 15.6103| 0.7| 14/16
Energy | 52.2816| 2.3| 19/4
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — Tech companies led declines in U.S. equities as investors rotated away from the stocks that thrived during the pandemic. Oil jumped after the Suez Canal was blocked by a giant container ship. Zoom Video Communications Inc., Peloton Interactive Inc. and DocuSign Inc. were among the worst performers on the Nasdaq 100. Energy producers, banks and transportation companies fared better as traders bought up cyclical stocks. The dollar strengthened. Demand increased at an auction of five-year Treasury notes, boosting the bid-to-cover ratio from the previous sale, a relief after last month’s disastrous seven-year auction sparked a global selloff in bonds.
Investors are also wagering on which sectors of the stock market are poised to fare the best as growth picks up. “As long as we continue to exceed expectations on the        economic front, which I think we will, the cyclical trade is still going to have legs,” Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at Nuveen, told Bloomberg Television. European stocks eked out a gain. A gauge of Asia-Pacific shares fell the most in almost three weeks. Hong Kong equities dropped to a 10% correction amid the city’s decision to temporarily suspend BioNTech SE vaccines. West Texas Intermediate crude added more than 5% after a container ship ran aground in the Suez Canal and blocked traffic in both directions on one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.

These are some key events to watch this week:
* The U.S. Treasury auctions seven-year debt.
* U.S. personal income and spending data on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 2%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%.
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1814.
* The British pound sank 0.5% to $1.3688.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 108.68 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 1.6%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.36%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.76%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude gained 5.2% to $60.74 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,733.76 an ounce.

–With assistance from Emily Barrett, Andreea Papuc, Cecile Gutscher and Srinivasan Sivabalan.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I’m always asking that question: “What do you want to be remembered for?”  If you are fortunate, someone with
moral authority will ask that question early enough in your life so that you will continue to ask it as you go through life. 
It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see your self as a different person –
the person you can become. –Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005.

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com