Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Friday.
March 27, 1855: Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner patents kerosene, revolutionizing home lighting and helping spark the modern petroleum industry.
In Finland, speeding tickets can be calculated as a percentage of income, which led to a Finnish businessman receiving a €121,000 fine for speeding in 2023.
William Roentgen, scientist, b. 1845.
Sarah Vaughan, singer, b. 1924
Mariah Carey, singer, b. 1970
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The last Neanderthals to survive in Europe came from a single lineage that survived the worst period of the ice age, ancient DNA reveals. Read More.
| 18 million-year-old fossils of ape found in Africa, but in an unexpected place |
The ancestor of apes was long thought to come from East Africa, but newly discovered fossils in Egypt may prompt a rethink. Read More.
| Roman mosaic shows topless woman battling leopard in arena, study finds |
For the first time ever, an image of a Roman woman battling a beast in an arena has been identified. Read More.
| Brain aging results from a loss of control over how genes are regulated, mouse study suggests |
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| Astronauts will ‘absolutely be test subjects’: NASA’s moon plans pose big questions — and big risks |
Experts say building a lunar colony within the next decade, as NASA and Elon Musk want to, will require finding solutions to problems we don’t yet fully understand. Read More.
The Oscars are leaving Hollywood
But they’re not going far — just a scene change.
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Meet the high school senior who won Olympic gold
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Dubai, UAE
A thunderstorm lights up the sky
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Washington, DC, US
Cherry blossoms bloom along the Tidal Basin near the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial
Photograph: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
East Kilbride, Scotland
Zena Timmons, a curator, prepares Morag the sheep for display. Morag, an important cloned predecessor to the world-famous Dolly, has gone on permanent display at the National Museum of Rural Life
Photograph: National Museums Scotland/PA
Market Closes for March 27th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
45166.64 | -793.47 |
| -1.73% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6368.85 | -108.31 |
| -1.67% | ||
| NASDAQ | 20948.36 | -459.72 |
| -2.15% | ||
| TSX | 31960.65 | +73.13 |
| +0.23% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 53373.07 | -230.58 |
| -0.43% | ||
| HANG SENG |
24951.88 | +95.45 |
| +0.38% | ||
| SEN SEX | 73583.22 | -1690.23 |
| -2.25% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 9967.35 | -4.82 |
| -0.05% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.580 | 3.558 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.941 | 3.920 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.4278 | 4.4117 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.9645 | 4.9326 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7209 | 0.7219 |
| US $ |
1.3864 | 1.3852 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6245 | 1.6010 |
| US $ |
0.8663 | 1.1542 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4456.45 | 4564.55 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 99.64 | 94.48 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1980, Texas oil barons Nelson Bunker Hunt and W. Herbert Hunt failed spectacularly to corner the market in silver. After the brothers drove the price up, new supplies came flooding into the market, catching the Hunts by surprise. In a single day, silver plunged from $21.62 to $10.80 an ounce.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.2% at 31,960.65 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.5%.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.2%.
Methanex Corp. had the largest increase, rising 10.0%.
Today, 120 of 221 shares rose, while 100 fell; 3 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 0.8%
* This month, the index fell 6.9%, heading for the biggest decline since June 2022
* So far this week, the index rose 2.1%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Feb. 20
* The index advanced 27% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.5% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 43.8% above its low on April 7, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.05t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 17.46% compared with 18.42% in the previous session and the average of 19.17% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | 195.4762| 3.4| 58/2
Energy | 92.7951| 1.6| 30/7
Consumer Staples | 2.5866| 0.2| 7/3
Real Estate | -1.2211| -0.3| 8/10
Health Care | -1.2348| -1.5| 0/4
Utilities | -1.3078| -0.1| 7/7
Communication Services| -3.4581| -0.5| 1/4
Consumer Discretionary| -18.3893| -1.8| 0/9
Industrials | -35.7231| -1.1| 4/25
Information Technology| -42.1107| -1.8| 1/9
Financials | -114.2722| -1.1| 4/20
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | 28.7800| 3.2| -39.3| 15.2
Canadian Natural Resources | 28.2900| 2.9| -17.4| 49.4
Wheaton Precious Metals | 24.4900| 4.7| 36.8| 7.0
TD Bank | -21.0400| -1.4| 16.9| -1.9
RBC | -21.0500| -1.0| 22.3| -6.0
Shopify | -38.9100| -2.8| -19.2| -29.7
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange turned positive late Friday, with the resources-heavy index boosted by higher commodity prices, while Desjardins sees scope for a further rise in foreign demand in Canadian stocks, even as uncertainty around when the Middle East war might eventually end continues to overshadow trade.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rallied late to close up 73.14, or 0.2%, to 31,960.65, with both the Energy and Base Metals sectors higher.
Energy was up 2.8% as West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 5.5% even as U.S. President Trump backed away from a threat to attack Iran’s electricity infrastructure, extending a deadline for the country to agree to negotiations for 10 days.
WTI oil for May delivery closed up US$5.16 to settle at US$99.64 per barrel, while May Brent oil was last seen up $4.88 to US$112.89.
Base Metals rose 1.5% with gold trading higher, rebounding from a three-month low a day earlier even as the dollar continues to rise as traders turn away from the metal as a safe haven amid the war on Iran.
Gold for April delivery was up US$110.00 to US$4,519.00 per ounce after falling to a lowest since Jan. 5 a day earlier.
On the broader market, Desjardins, in a note entitled ‘Investment Strategy and Interest Rate Analysis’, says equity investors "were well hedged" going into this period of oil shock.
"Relative to the sharp moves in energy, equity drawdowns have been limited, paling in comparison to those seen during the "Liberation Day" chaos last year," the bank adds.
With bonds a less reliable hedge in inflationary episodes, many investors sought protection in listed options/volatility markets, according to Desjardins.
"Absent a more pronounced equity correction, those hedges will drag on performance as premium costs accrue," it says, and adds: "Investors are still paying up for protection, and for good reason.
But many of these listed options expire at the end of March, which could give equities more freedom to move on new information thereafter."
Desjardins says selectivity across regions is rising, noting U.S. equity flows continue to lag equity flows into other jurisdictions.
During the first few weeks of the war, investors were rotating out of the U.S. and into Asian and Canadian stocks, it adds.
"Canada still stands out", says Desjardins, in noting fund flows year to date have outpaced anything seen since this data started being collected.
At the end of last year, Desjardins notes, foreign investors had begun shifting into Canadian stocks, and it believes that has continued into this year.
"Canadian stocks remain under-owned relative to their global market cap, and we see scope for foreign demand to rise further," Desjardins adds.
The Desjardins forecast for the TSX is unchanged, but it has revised its projections for the U.S. and EAFE indices lower.
It says higher commodity prices should feed through to higher EPS growth in Canada over time.
Desjardins notes while the TSX has underperformed the S&P 500 since the onset of the conflict, nearly all of that underperformance has come from the materials sector, which had an "incredible run" leading up to the conflict.
"In a more dangerous and uncertain world, we believe there’s room for gold prices to increase again," it adds.
In the U.S., Desjardins notes the S&P 500 now faces more headwinds, with rate cuts potentially off the table, while capex monetization tied to AI also remains a concern.
Outside of North America, Desjardins said rising energy costs are likely to blunt earnings growth, and it expects lower returns as a result.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders drove stocks to their longest weekly slide since 2022 on concern that a protracted war in Iran will keep oil prices elevated, fueling an increase in inflation and a slowdown in growth.
Equity losses accelerated into the close, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.7%.
The Nasdaq 100 fell into a correction, sliding over 10% from its peak.
Brent topped $112. Short-dated Treasuries outperformed longer maturities.
The yen weakened to 160 for the first time since 2024, raising intervention risks.
The US and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear and steel facilities on Friday, while Iran retaliated across the Persian Gulf.
The escalation came after President Donald Trump pushed back his deadline for Tehran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants.
“Risk aversion continues to dominate,” said Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
“Absent full US military control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran effectively controls the escalation lever of this war, and the balance of risks point to a deeper unraveling.”
The heightened likelihood of a more persistent energy shock raises financial stability risks because it traps central banks in restrictive policy and puts government debt on a more fragile and unsustainable path, he added.
As the war in the Middle East drives up gasoline prices, data showed US consumer sentiment slid to a three-month low in March and year-ahead inflation expectations jumped.
Economists raised their estimates for US inflation through year-end, while trimming consumer spending, growth and employment projections as the war in Iran drives up fuel costs, according to the latest Bloomberg monthly survey.
Heightened uncertainty and headline-driven swings are pushing investors to cut risk, hedge more, and tighten liquidity, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“Markets are reacting more to positioning and volatility than fundamentals,” he said.
“The macro and earnings backdrop is still supportive and expectations have reset, but without clear resolution on the conflict and stabilization in energy markets, it’s hard to see a sustained move higher.”
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk is warning investors not to turn bearish on US stocks, saying current positioning leaves the market vulnerable to a short squeeze if geopolitical tensions ease.
Corporate Highlights:
* Carnival Corp. cut its full-year profit outlook as surging crude prices are driving up fuel costs.
* Anthropic PBC is considering going public as soon as in October, according to people familiar with the matter, as the artificial intelligence company races with rival OpenAI Inc. to hold an initial public offering.
* Oaktree Capital Management is meeting all redemption requests it received for a $7.7 billion private credit fund aimed at retail investors, siding with managers that have decided against enforcing a cap on withdrawals.
* Pernod Ricard SA and Brown-Forman Corp., the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, are discussing a merger as the alcoholic drink companies look at ways to consolidate amid an industry downturn.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Treasury yields are close to entering a precarious zone for stocks, and it will be harder to shrug the move off this time.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%
* The MSCI World Index fell 1.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1517
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3274
* The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 160.13 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.2% to $66,092.99
* Ether fell 3.4% to $1,992.69
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.43%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.09%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.97%
* The yield on 2-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 3.90%
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.97%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5.8% to $99.95 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 3.1% to $4,513.28 an ounce
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another.
Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death in order
to know how good it is to live….the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words:
Wait and Hope. -Alexandre Dumas, 1802-1870, The Count of Monte Cristo.
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