April 16, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.

1964 “The Rolling Stones (England’s Newest Hitmakers),” the band’s debut album, was released.   Go to article »

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest tomorrow at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, west of London. Only 30 people will attend the memorial, which will be pared down for pandemic safety.

Mercedes’ new electric car has a nap mode and doors that open for you.  Everyone knows the height of luxury is just a good nap.

Defense Department confirms leaked video of unidentified aerial phenomena is real.  Ahhh, just the existential crisis we needed today.

Plastic is falling from the sky. But where is it coming from?
Ross Hall doesn’t want funerals to be depressing, so he launched a line of coffins that keep mourners gasping and laughing. Take a look.
“That’s a lot of jaws”: Researchers say they’ve pinpointed just how many Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth over 127,000 generations. It’s rather terrifying to picture.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A large male walrus sleeps on a piece of floating ice in Svalbard, Norway, lit by the midnight sun
CREDIT:OLLE CLAESON/SHACKLETON

A male kingfisher tries his luck to win over a female at the water’s edge near Southampton, Hampshire
CREDIT: JOHN SCAMELL.SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Bengal tiger Garfield snarls at the zoo in Havana, Cuba
CREDIT: ALEXANDRE MENEGHIN/REUTERS
                                                                                                         
Market Closes for April 16^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1991, the Warsaw Stock Exchange reopened for trading, after decades of closure under Communist rule.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks reach another record on Friday amid a rally in lumber stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.2% in Toronto. Lumber stocks were the best performers after U.S. housing starts rebounded sharply in March to the highest since 2006, exceeding forecasts, and Western SPF lumber prices hit another record. Energy stocks were the worst performers on Friday after oil price declined. Meanwhile, Scotiabank said that Canada’s SPTSX index is showing its fastest pace of earnings growth since the tech bubble recovery.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.70 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,775.18 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.2505 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 6 basis points to 1.539%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 29.4 to 19,351.32 in Toronto. Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.0 percent. Goeasy Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 8.8 percent. Today, 126 of 229 shares rose, while 98 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6 percent
* The index advanced 39 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2 percent below its 52-week high on April 16, 2021 and 39.5 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.7 on a trailing basis and 17.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.02t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 7.92 percent compared with 8.72 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.96 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Financials | 22.1940| 0.4| 22/4
* Materials | 12.7455| 0.5| 35/17
* Industrials | 8.2928| 0.4| 17/13
* Communication Services | 4.5422| 0.5| 5/3
* Consumer Discretionary | 3.3432| 0.4| 8/3
* Health Care | 1.2234| 0.5| 7/3
* Utilities | 0.5260| 0.1| 9/7
* Consumer Staples | -0.5107| -0.1| 8/5
* Real Estate | -0.8808| -0.1| 8/17
* Information Technology | -6.7737| -0.3| 2/9
* Energy | -15.2962| -0.6| 5/17

US
By Namitha Jagadeesh
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks ended the week at all-time highs  as Chinese growth data added to signs of a global economic recovery. The dollar slipped. The S&P 500 Index capped its fourth straight weekly advance as the strong data from Asia joined a raft of robust readings in the world’s largest economy to boost sentiment. Chinese stocks outperformed in Asia after a report showed the nation’s economy soared in the first quarter. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index posted a seventh week of advances, its longest streak since May 2018. The data from Beijing added to Thursday’s string of positive economic figures out of the U.S., pushing the MSCI All- Country World Index to a fresh record. Treasuries extended their gains.
Morgan Stanley became the latest American bank to post record first-quarter results. Along with healthy corporate earnings, the week’s dump of data gave fresh impetus to the reflation trade. In the U.S., retail sales and weekly jobless claims data signaled an accelerating recovery in the world’s biggest economy. Investors will look for further confirmation as the reporting season picks up pace next week, with about 80 S&P 500 members and more than 50 Stoxx 600 firms announcing. “In addition to earnings, there has been plenty of impressive data to digest indicating that the U.S. economy is firing up,” Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index, said. “With a strong vaccine rollout in addition to fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy, the recovery is picking up pace. Despite the blowout data, U.S. treasury yields are heading lower suggesting investors have bought into the Fed’s low rates for longer mantra.”
These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 added 0.1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.9%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.6%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro jumped 0.1% to $1.1978.
* The British pound gained 0.3% to $1.3834.
* The onshore yuan was little changed at 6.52 per dollar.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.76 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 1.57%.
* The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed less than one basis point to 0.16%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.265%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped three basis points to 0.762%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.093%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.5% to $63.14 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.8% to $1,778.25 an ounce.
–With assistance from Emily Barrett.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most
massive characters are seared with scars. -Kahlil Gibran,  1883-1931

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