April 18, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 18, 1906, a major earthquake struck San Francisco and set off raging fires. More than 3,000 people died.
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Also on this day in…
1775 – Paul Revere’s midnight ride.
1949 – The Irish Republic was proclaimed.
1955 – Physicist Albert Einstein died at age 76.
1956 – Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.
1989 – Thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A tree stands in a field of oilseed rape in Polesworth, Britain on Tuesday. Darren Staples/Reuters

Two dogs run through the snow, on top of Feldberg Mountain, just outside of Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

A woman poses for a photographer in a buttercup flower field near Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in southern Israel, just outside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Amir Cohen/Reuters
Market Closes for April 18^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1980, the New York Stock Exchange admits its first female specialist, Amy Newkirk, as a member.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
$29.1 million
The amount Google paid for 1,210 acres at a private industrial park east of Reno, Nev. The Alphabet unit aims eventually to build a data center at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, several miles south of where Tesla is building its $5 billion battery factory. 
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower amid global market weakness after British Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election and oil and base metals prices fell.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 62 points or 0.4 percent to 15,622.57, erasing much of Monday’s triple-digit gain. Energy shares lost 0.7 percent as West Texas Intermediate crude swung to a loss, down to $52.62 a barrel. Baytex Energy Corp. slipped 2 percent while Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 1.6 percent.
     The materials index fell 0.5 percent as an index of base metals retreated the most since November on concerns about U.S. and Chinese demand. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. tumbled 5.1 percent and Lundin Mining Corp. lost 4.8 percent.
     In other moves:
* Amaya Inc. rose 2.9 percent to its highest level since November 2015 after competitor International Game Technology agreed to sell its social gaming business for $825 million
* ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. rose 2.9 percent after it got FDA backing for a drug trial design.
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks followed European equities down Tuesday while the pound soared after British Prime Minister Theresa May called for surprise early elections to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations. Treasuries climbed but industrial metals plunged.
     The S&P 500 Index struggled after its best day since March 1, with shares of health care companies, energy producers and finance firms leading the decline. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. dropped nearly 5 percent, the most in nine months, after stunning Wall Street with a decline in bond trading revenue. Base metals like zinc and nickel retreated amid skepticism of demand from China and the U.S.
     Across the Atlantic, the FTSE 100 Index lost 2.46 percent, the most since June, while the pound surged against the dollar. May said she was calling the election “with reluctance” but that the U.K. needs stability during Brexit negotiations. Polls show her Conservative Party is more than 20 points ahead of the main opposition.
     “Earnings will be a key focus for investors over the next couple of weeks, but the number of geopolitical issues facing the market continues to grow,” Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. “We’re going to have to see a lot more upside follow through before we can say that the mild weakness we’ve seen since the beginning of March in the broad market has come to an end.”
     Global instability also weighed on the markets, as the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program rumbles on and the French presidential election looms. Two candidates who want to take the country out of the region’s common currency remain in contention in the most unpredictable race in recent history.
     Read our Markets Live blog here.
     Here’s what investors are watching:
* The first round of voting in France is this weekend.
* Final euro area inflation figures for March are out Wednesday.
* Morgan Stanley will publish earnings Wednesday. Akzo Nobel NV also reports then and may outline its plan to counter the $24 billion takeover attempt by PPG Industries Inc.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index closed down 0.29 percent to 2,342.18, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended off 0.55 percent to 20,523.28.
* The Nasdaq 100 Stock Index slipped 0.14 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index rose 0.05 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped 1.1 percent, led by commodity producers. The Paris CAC 40 Index dropped 1.6 percent, the most since September.
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.48 percent.
* The pound was 2.22 percent higher at 1.2844. The euro rose 0.85 percent to $1.0734.
* The Turkish lira increased 1.05 percent, adding to Monday’s gains after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s referendum victory.
     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell nearly eight basis points to 2.17 percent.
* U.K. 10-year bond yields slipped 3 basis points at 1.014.
     Commodities
* Gold was flat at $1,291.90 an ounce.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.09 percent to $52.60 a barrel, after dropping 1 percent on Monday.
* Iron ore futures continued their slide, losing more than 6 percent since Monday. London Metal Exchange zinc for delivery in three months declined 3.8 percent and nickel fell 4.5 percent.
 

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

I hold that true education of the intellect can only come through a proper exercise
and training of the bodily organs, e.g., hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc.
In other words an intelligent use of the bodily organs in a child provides
the best and quickest way of developing his intellect.
But unless the development of the mind and body goes hand in hand
with a corresponding awakening of the soul,
the former alone would prove to be a poor lopsided affair.
By spiritual training I mean education of the heart.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.
              -John W. Gardner, 1912-2002

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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

Tel: 778.430.5808
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