Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Friday.
October 24, 1945: United Nations Charter Day founded.
October 24, 1992: The Toronto Blue Jays became the first team outside the United States to win a World Series as they defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in Game 6. Go to article.
| Venomous snake strikes captured in extreme detail through high-speed videos for first time |
Over 100 videos of venomous snake strikes reveal three different types of attacks, with some biting down several times “to prolong the venom flow into their prey.” Read More.
| Rare half-pink rough diamond with ‘astounding’ weight of 37.4 carats discovered in Botswana |
Experts at a laboratory in Botswana managed by the Gemological Institute of America recently examined an extraordinary natural diamond with two distinct color zones. Read More.
| New images of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS show giant ‘jet’ shooting toward the sun |
New telescope images show that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is shooting a giant jet of gas and dust toward the sun. This is normal behavior for comets, an expert told Live Science. Read More.
| Charred piece of secretive Chinese rocket found still smoldering in the Australian outback |
| Experts believe that a five-foot-wide piece of space debris discovered near an Australian mining town was part of a dead Chinese rocket. The wreckage likely crashed just before it was found. Read More. |
| Scientists have just defined five sleep profiles — and some could help spot mental illness |
Researchers have identified five distinct profiles that map to certain brain signatures. Each profile is tied to certain behaviors and cognitive issues. Read More.
Lab-grown teeth could mean the end of implants
Scientists are working to grow real biological teeth in a human jaw. It would be a crowning achievement in every sense.
Inside Mongolia’s ‘Mars camp’
Read about the extreme adventure that wants to turn tourists into astronauts.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Sydney, Australia
Visitors pass an exhibit for Sculpture by the Sea, along the coastal walk from Bondi to Tamarama. The annual event is Australia’s largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition
Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock
Fife, Scotland
Students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews. The event marks the culmination of a weekend of festivities in which first years thank their more senior student ‘parents’ for mentoring them.
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A worker pounds a rock wall to make gravel and sand in the neighbourhood of Kenscoff in Port-au-Prince.
Photograph: Odelyn Joseph/AP
Market Closes for October 24th , 2025
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
47207.12 | +472.51 |
| +1.01% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6791.69 | +53.25 |
| +0.79% | ||
| NASDAQ | 23204.87 | +263.07 |
| +1.15% | ||
| TSX | 30353.07 | +166.79 |
| +0.55% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 49299.65 | +658.04 |
| +1.35% | ||
| HANG SENG |
26160.15 | +192.17 |
| +0.74% | ||
| SENSEX | 84211.88 | -344.52 |
| -0.41% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 9645.62 | +67.05 |
| +0.70% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.085 | 3.095 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.579 | 3.583 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.0007 | 4.0009 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.5928 | 4.5786 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7145 | 0.7147 |
| US $ |
1.3995 | 1.3991 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 1.6272 | 0.6145 |
| US $ |
1.1626 | 0.8601 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4143.75 | 4070.00 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 62.31 | 62.62 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1861, the first U.S. transcontinental telegraph line was activated, enabling messages to be transmitted almost instantly from New York to California. News would have taken two or three months to go from coast to coast just 10 years earlier.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.6%, or 166.79 to 30,353.07 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.7%.
Aecon Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 12.3%.
Today, 114 of 213 shares rose, while 98 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 23%, heading for the best year in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 1.1%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.8%
* The index advanced 24% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 18% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.5% below its 52-week high on Oct. 15, 2025 and 36.6% above its low on April 7, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.5 on a trailing basis and 18.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.4% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.82t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.61% compared with 12.64% in the previous session and the average of 8.89% over the past month
Index Points
Information Technology | 97.4355| 3.0| 7/2
Financials | 60.1860| 0.6| 21/3
Materials | 5.8900| 0.1| 22/27
Consumer Staples | 4.9298| 0.5| 3/8
Energy | 3.0666| 0.1| 17/22
Communication Services | 2.2976| 0.4| 2/3
Utilities | -0.2909| 0.0| 6/8
Health Care | -0.6476| -0.8| 1/3
Consumer Discretionary | -0.8007| -0.1| 4/5
Real Estate | -1.7249| -0.3| 8/11
Industrials | -3.5549| -0.1| 23/6
Shopify | 73.4100| 3.7| 18.2| 58.3
Brookfield Corp | 16.2800| 1.7| -23.2| 17.4
Celestica | 15.8100| 5.0| -17.8| 213.2
Enbridge | -5.0270| -0.5| 67.7| 7.6
Agnico Eagle Mines | Ltd | -5.5150| -0.7| -35.0| 103.3
TC Energy | -5.5940| -1.1| -32.3| 5.3
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday closed higher for a third-straight session, regaining more than 460 points, on the prospect of at least one more interest rate here before year end, and also as Rosenberg Research cited “good overbought” conditions.
Despite deflated commodity prices today, the resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 166.79 points to 30,353.07, adding to the near 300 points gained over the prior two sessions.
This still left the TSX down near 300 points from a record close of 30,637.12 struck on October 15.
Most sectors were higher, led by Info Tech up 2.6% and the Battery Metals Index up 1.85%.
In individual stock news, Newmont is considering a potential offer to gain control of Barrick Mining’s (ABX.TO, B) Nevada gold assets, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
National Bank of Canada had flagged the possibility in recent weeks.
For example, on Sept.29, National Bank noted Barrick’s Tongon sale completed planned non-core asset divestitures.
In that note, National wrote: “Increased value in the Company’s Nevada JV provides an improved geopolitical risk profile and given the JV agreement with Newmont – presents a more economical opportunity for Newmont to acquire Barrick ahead of more significant advancement – albeit Government/regulatory approvals are likely to impede any planned combination.”
Newmont, which owns a minority interest in a Nevada gold-mining joint venture with Barrick, is studying options that may include a bid for Barrick’s full ownership of the assets, as well as a full takeover of its rival, Friday’s report said.
The discussions are ongoing, and no agreement may be reached, it added.
Barrick closed Friday on the TSX up 1.8%.
On the economic front, Canada’s CBC News reported Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will pull a controversial anti-tariff ad next Monday, but not until after it airs during the weekend’s World Series games between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
CBC noted U.S. President Donald Trump attacked the ad by the Ontario government, which uses quotes by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to extol the virtues of free trade.
Trump said he is terminating all negotiations with Canada after the anti-tariff ad was broadcast to American audiences.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on Friday that Canada is prepared to continue trade talks “when the Americans are ready.”
Further to that, BMO Capital Markets Chief Economist Douglas Porter, in his regular weekly ‘Daily Points’ column noted there is a “real-world element” to the fact that the market is leaning so heavily to a rate cut now that a decision to hold would lead to a “nasty whipsaw” in yields.
Porter noted while the BoC is not going to let the market drive its decisions, Governor Tiff Macklem chose to not lean against rate-cut pricing in his latest public remarks. “Quite the opposite, in fact,” Porter said.
“Accordingly,” he added, “it appears that the die is cast for a 25 bp trim next week, and we expect a bit more later on given the ongoing and damaging uncertainty on the U.S.-Canada trade front.”
Meanwhile, on the outlook for the Canadian equity market, Rosenberg Research noted as of last week, the TSX has posted 27 consecutive weekly higher highs since April’s low.
Going back to 1980, the next longest streak is 12 weeks.
As a result, the research said, the index is “right at the outer edge of decisively breaking out” above 29,378-30,198 Fibonacci resistance.
This is increasingly bringing next resistance near 33,800 into view, it added.
“Not surprisingly, momentum is overbought,” Walter Murphy said in the research.
“Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, both the 14-week RSI and weekly Coppock Curve have confirmed the post-April rally to date.
And, in both cases, momentum was recently at a multi-year high.
This is viewed as a confirming, “good overbought” condition, which implies that once an overdue correction runs its course, the TSX would be expected to resume its rally.”
Murphy said the weekly Coppock indicator’s July-August pullback proved to be a “whipsaw”.
He added: “That happens. Currently, the oscillator is positioned to take on a bearish bias any week and be in a confirmed downtrend by early to mid-November. The resulting bearish bias would be expected to continue into 2026.”
Once a correction does begin, Murphy said, a Fibonacci 38.2%-61.8% retracement of the post-April uptrend would not be a surprise.
Based on the gains to date, such a retracement allows for a challenge of 27,530-25,505.
The lower end of that range is in line with April’s breakout point, he added.
Of commodities, gold moved lower, resuming a correction from Monday’s record high, even as a key U.S. inflation measure slowed last month, firming expectations for a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Gold for December delivery was last seen down $31.70 to US$4,113.90 per ounce, sticking under Monday’s record close of US$4,359.40.
West Texas Intermediate closed lower, the first drop in four days even as U.S. sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers and India’s promise to end purchases of oil from the country could cut into supply.
WTI oil for December delivery closed down $0.29 to settle at $61.50 per barrel, while December Brent crude was last seen up $0.07 to $66.06.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street saw a relief rally as cooler- than-estimated inflation reinforced trader conviction on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
Stocks extended their October advance, with the S&P 500 hitting all-time highs on bets policy easing will power corporate earnings.
An initial jump in Treasuries waned after manufacturing and service surveys underscored economic resilience.
The slowest pace in three months for underlying inflation was welcomed by traders, who’ve been flying almost blind amid the dearth of economic data since the start of the US shutdown.
The September core consumer price index increased 0.2% from August.
On an annual basis, it rose 3%.
While the central bank was already expected to lower borrowing costs next week, the CPI report may help convince policymakers they can do so again in December.
There was little in today’s benign data to “spook” the Fed, according to Lindsay Rosner at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
“Investors are grabbing the bull by the horns after this morning’s lighter-than-anticipated CPI bolstered the case for a series of rate cuts this year and next,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
The US government will probably be unable to release inflation data for October, the White House said Friday, citing the ongoing government shutdown.
The S&P 500 rose almost 1%, briefly topping 6,800.
Treasury two-year yields slid one basis point to 3.48%.
The dollar wavered.
“Good news on a Friday,” said Art Hogan at B. Riley Wealth.
“The Fed has been clear that they are more focused on the softening labor data and will continue to defend their full employment mandate” even with inflation running above target.
“As long as incoming data signal more risk to employment than to inflation, the Fed’s policy path likely points toward additional easing,” said Jason Pride at Glenmede.
The CPI report confirms what we’ve seen overall from private data during the government shutdown — little indication that inflation is surging or that the labor market is falling off a cliff, according to Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“For a Fed focused on prudent ‘risk management,’ that should translate into another rate cut next week, and likely more to follow,” she said.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, it would have taken a shockingly bad report to derail an October rate cut, but at a time when economic data is a bit sparse, investors will take any clarity they can get.
Kenwell also noted that while we may in fact get two more rate cuts this year, the Fed will struggle to justify a more aggressive rate-cutting approach in the face of stubbornly high inflation — unless there’s persistent and notable weakness in the labor market.
“Regardless, stocks can do well in a mild inflationary environment, as we have seen over the past few years.
For that to continue, we’ll need to see strong earnings, and so far, this earnings season, that’s been the case,” he said.
“Much like a Sherlock Holmes’ story, inflation is the dog that didn’t bark,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.
“So many people have been expecting a sharp increase in inflation and have positioned bearishly as a result, but the market is likely to keep squeezing the shorts until they realize that the economy – and Corporate America – is more resilient than many expected.”
Zaccarelli also noted that while equity valuations are high and there are risks in the market, with the Fed cutting rates and corporate profits continuing to increase, it’s hard to see an interruption of this year’s bull market.
“Next year will bring new challenges, but we wouldn’t advise getting in the way of the upward trend between now and year-end,” he said.
An alignment of seasonal strength renewed corporate buybacks, and surging demand from individual investors is setting up US stocks for a powerful year-end rally that’s likely to kick off in the days ahead, according to Citadel Securities’ Scott Rubner.
“The best seasonal window of the year begins next week,” Rubner, the firm’s head of equity and equity derivatives strategy wrote in a note Friday.
At the same time, “persistent retail equity demand continues to act as a price setter of equities.”
Interest-rate swaps signaled traders have all but fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s meeting next week, followed by another reduction in December.
Overall, the inflation figures locked in a 25 basis-point cut next week and will likely result in a “dovish cut” tone, according to Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets.
“The CPI report leaves an October Fed rate cut a done deal with a December cut also highly likely,” said Oscar Munoz and Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities.
“However, given that this is priced in, further bullish momentum in rates is likely to be contained.”
With the October cut fully priced in, markets will remain focused on guidance around future rate cuts and the end of quantitative tightening, which the TD Securities strategists expect to be announced at the October meeting.
When Fed officials meet next week to decide whether to cut rates again, they’ll face another question that’s becoming increasingly urgent — how soon they should stop shrinking the bank’s $6.6 trillion portfolio of securities.
Money markets have been flashing warnings for several weeks that the process, known as quantitative tightening, may have run its course.
Now, Wall Street strategists say, stress signals have gathered such momentum that the Fed may be forced to end QT as soon as this month.
At JPMorgan Chase & Co., Michael Feroli says he expects the Fed to decide next week to end balance-sheet reduction, or QT.
Feroli also says the case for expecting a cut next week is a simple one: Fed speakers, even some of the more hawkish ones, have done little to push back on the market’s firmly held view that a cut is coming.
He expects the post-meeting statement will be little- changed relative to the September statement.
At the press conference, Feroli believes that Chair Jerome Powell will continue to characterize the easing as a risk-management move.
“We don’t anticipate he will signal any bias regarding the December meeting; with potentially three months’ worth of data to be released between now and then, we see little upside from any signaling that could end up being quite improvident,” he said.
Traders are betting that the Fed will cut the rate by a total of 120 basis points over the next 12 months.
That would bring benchmark borrowing costs to 2.9%, below the 3% mark — considered a neutral level that neither stimulates nor restricts the economy.
“The data confirms that US inflation remains sticky, but is gradually fading, reinforcing the case for multiple Fed rate cuts into next year,” said Florian Ielpo at Lombard Odier Asset Management.
While signs of tariff-induced inflation are apparent in select categories such as apparel and furniture, goods prices increased at a slower pace in September than August broadly, according to Josh Jamner at ClearBridge Investments.
“This suggests that the pass-through of higher tariffs to consumers has continued to undershoot expectations, which in turn has opened the door for the Fed to lower rates to support a cooling labor market,” he said.
Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial noted that while tariffs were likely the culprit for rising apparel prices in September, inflation metrics will likely improve by December, setting the Fed up to continue easing throughout 2026.
“Inflation is staying contained at this point,” said Eric Teal at Comerica Wealth Management.
“The impact from tariffs has been mostly felt in lower end consumption imports.
The current inflation report combined with a weaker job market provides cover for additional rate cuts in 2025 and into next year.”
Overall, this report shows tariff-related price adjustments are more modest because competitive pressures within the retail industry are pushing companies to find other ways to offset the additional costs, according to Tiffany Wilding at Pacific Investment Management Co.
“With inflation expectations still looking anchored, we are not too worried about runaway inflation here despite lingering tariff effects,” said Don Rissmiller at Strategas.
To Scott Helfstein at Global X, the delayed inflation report was not great, but not bad enough to stop the Fed from cutting.
Prices have been reasonably stable outside utilities and used cars despite tariffs.
“Yes, prices are higher, but not enough to keep them from helping the economy,” he said.
“US consumers do not like higher prices but are still eating out.”
Separate data showed US consumer sentiment fell in October to a five-month low, as worries persisted about stubbornly high prices and the impact on their finances.
“Today’s numbers help the Fed’s narrative that at least inflation is mostly moving in the right direction,” said John Kerschner at Janus Henderson.
“Right now, the markets are seemingly giving the Fed a pass to cut rates through the end of 2025.”
Corporate Highlights:
* Invesco Ltd.’s proxy vote to decide the future of famed tech fund QQQ was postponed.
* Intel Corp. returned to profitability last quarter and gave an upbeat revenue forecast, suggesting that it’s making progress on a long and challenging comeback attempt.
* Ford Motor Co. signaled it will largely bounce back next year from a devastating fire that hobbled a key supplier to its top- selling F-150 pickup, sending shares up the most in more than three years while assuaging concerns over one of the automaker’s biggest money-makers.
* Procter & Gamble Co. reported better-than-expected sales for its first quarter as consumers brushed off price increases and snapped up its Gillette razors and Secret deodorant. The company also cut its projected impact from tariffs in half.
* General Motors Co. cut hundreds of jobs on Friday, just days after raising its profit guidance for the year in a move that sent the shares soaring.
* Target Corp. is eliminating about 8% of corporate roles in its first major restructuring in years, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg News, as the retailer seeks to reduce complexity and regain its footing.
* Alaska Air Group Inc. executives planned to use its earnings update to showcase the carrier’s plans to cash in on rebounding travel demand, and a return to stability after an IT outage disrupted travel early in the summer. Instead, they are once again working to defuse the fallout from a fresh tech glitch with disruption that’s expected to last for days.
* Newmont Corp. is starting to reap the benefits of cost-cutting measures, with the world’s largest gold miner delivering stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.
** Newmont is studying a potential deal to gain control of Canadian rival Barrick Mining Corp.’s prized Nevada gold assets, people with knowledge of the matter said.
* Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to buy Adverum Biotechnologies Inc., a company working to treat blindness, in a deal that ultimately could be worth $261.7 million as it continues a push into gene therapies.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to allow institutional clients to use their holdings of Bitcoin and Ether as collateral for loans by the end of the year in a significant deepening of Wall Street’s crypto integration.
* Crypto.com became the latest cryptocurrency firm to pursue a US bank charter as it seeks to further its custody-service business for products such as digital-asset treasuries and exchange-traded funds.
* Deckers Outdoor Corp., the owner of Hoka running shoes and Ugg boots, forecast 2026 revenue that falls short of analyst expectations, reflecting pressured consumer spending.
* Bayer AG won support from US regulators for a menopause drug that’s expected to hit the market in November under the name of Lynkuet.
* Porsche AG suffered its first quarterly loss as a listed company, with the luxury-car manufacturer taking a €3.1 billion ($3.6 billion) hit this year from scaling back its electric ambitions and US tariffs.
Will we see more convergence between gaming and finance in the future? Let us know in the latest Markets Pulse survey.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“The 3% CPI print has changed little because the market expects inflation to be around this sort of level for a while as the Fed removes its foot from the brakes. In other words, the market anticipates a Fed that’s turning its attention to the labor-market part of its dual mandate.”
— Sebastian Boyd, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.7%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 0.6%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 1.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1633
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3315
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 152.80 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1% to $110,654.56
* Ether rose 2.8% to $3,936.79
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.00%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.63%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.43%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.48%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.59%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $61.45 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,097.75 an ounce
–With assistance from Molly Smith.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
In politics stupidity is not a handicap. –Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821.
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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com