April 25, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Tangents:
On this day in…
1859 – Ground was broken for the Suez Canal.
1874 – Radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy.
1901 – New York becomes the first state to require license plates on automobiles.
1915 – Battle of Gallipoli.
1945 – U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, in central Europe, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany.
1945 – Delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.
1959 – The St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Bluebells are lit by the rising sun in Micheldever Wood in southern England, as a blast of Arctic weather brought snow to northern parts on Tuesday. Victoria Jones/PA/AP

A dog sits in the shade of a tree in front of a rapeseed field near Harpenden, Britain, on Tuesday. Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Market Closes for April 25^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Numbers of the Day
15%
President Donald Trump has ordered White House aides to draft a tax plan that slashes the corporate tax rate to 15%, even if that means a loss of revenue, the Journal reported Monday.
1,000
The estimated number of people working on Apple’s self-driving cars project—dubbed Project Titan—according to people familiar with the matter. The plan calls for putting senior engineers—some with NASA experience—in its cars for road tests.
Canada
By Kristine Owram 
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed slightly higher as gains in financials and energy offset a plunge in shares of Barrick Gold Corp.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 33 points or 0.2 percent to 15,745.19, its highest close in two months. Global stocks rallied for a second day on relief over the French election and the promise of U.S. tax reform. The MSCI World index of developed countries’ stock markets closed at an all-time high for the second day in a row.
     TSX energy shares rose 1.2 percent as the price of oil gained 0.8 percent, while financials added 0.6 percent. The materials index lost 2.5 percent as Barrick Gold Corp. tumbled 11 percent after missing first-quarter estimates and reporting higher mine costs.
     In other moves:
* Forestry stocks jumped after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 20 percent tariffs on softwood lumber imported from Canada — less than some analysts had expected. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. rose 8.8 percent and Canfor Corp. gained 7.9 percent
* Grocery retailer Metro Inc. added 6.9 percent as second- quarter earnings beat estimates despite food deflation
* Teck Resources Ltd. lost 2.5 percent. The miner missed first- quarter profit estimates amid challenges at a mine in Alaska
* Canadian National Railway Co. fell 3 percent after a key measure of efficiency dropped in the first quarter.
US
By Oliver Renick
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, following a global equity rally on Monday, as investors assessed corporate earnings and awaited a tax plan from the White House scheduled for Wednesday.
* S&P 500 up 0.6% to 2,388.61 at 4pm
* Index on Monday advanced most since March 1 after the French election result sparked an appetite for riskier assets
* First back-to-back gains this month; 1.7% gain is biggest two-day advance since Nov. 8
* Dow up 1.1% to 20,996.12
* Russell 2000 Index climbed for sixth day in past seven
* Materials shares up 1.6% as Bloomberg Commodity Index snaps six-day losing streak
* Freeport-McMoRan up 7.1% and DuPont adds 3.6%
* Financial stocks up 0.8% as Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley add at least 1.6%
* Utility and telecom shares little changed or down; 10-year yield about 6 bps higher
* Volume in S&P 500 16% above 30-day average at this time; about 7.3 billion shares traded hands on all U.S. exchanges, compared with 6.9 billion one-year average
* Volume movers: Express Scripts (ESRX), Ryder System (R), CR Bard (BCR), Laboratory Corp (LH), all traded at volume at least 3x 30-day average
* VIX swings to loss, down to 10.8
* Volatility movers: Vornado Realty (VNO), Dover (DOV), Dominion Resources (D) have highest put/call volume ratio in S&P 500
* U.S. equities remain a “relative safe-haven” in a low return world, though reflation risks remain, HSBC analysts led by Ben Laidler wrote in a report
* POLITICS:
* Republicans voiced relief Tuesday that President Donald Trump appears to be retreating from a government shutdown fight by relenting on his demand that Congress immediately start funding a border wall
* Investors are awaiting a tax reform plan: Trump will call for cutting taxes for individuals and lowering the corporate rate to 15% when he unveils his plan Wednesday, according to a White House official
* Geopolitical concerns persist after a U.S. nuclear- powered submarine arrived in South Korea on Tuesday as North Korea celebrated the 85th anniversary of its army
* ECONOMY:
* March new-home sales rose to 621,000 rate; est. 584,000
* Richmond Fed’s April mfg. survey at 20 vs 22 last month
* Home prices rose 6.4% y/y, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency
* Home prices in 20 U.S. cities accelerated in the year through February for a fifth month, while nationwide property values also picked up, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data reported Tuesday
* EARNINGS:
* After-market Tuesday: Chubb Ltd (CB), Edwards Lifesciences Corp (EW), Realty Income Corp (O), CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW), Stryker Corp (SYK), Illumina Inc (ILMN), Universal Health Services Inc (UHS), Discover Financial Services (DFS), AT&T Inc (T), Equity Residential (EQR), Boston Properties Inc (BXP), Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR), Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN), Capital One Financial Corp (COF), Arconic Inc (ARNC), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG), Total System Services Inc (TSS), Texas Instruments Inc (TXN)
* Pre-market Wednesday: Waste Management Inc (WM), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO), TE Connectivity Ltd (TEL), Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC), Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS), Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK), DTE Energy Co (DTE), Seagate Technology PLC (STX), PepsiCo Inc (PEP), United Technologies Corp (UTX), Anthem Inc (ANTM), WestRock Co (WRK), Wyndham Worldwide Corp (WYN), Ingersoll-Rand PLC (IR), Entergy Corp (ETR), Avery Dennison Corp (AVY), Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ), Baxter International Inc (BAX), State Street Corp (STT), Procter & Gamble Co/The (PG), Hershey Co/The (HSY), Boeing Co/The (BA), Hess Corp (HES), FLIR Systems Inc (FLIR), General Dynamics Corp (GD), Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC), Amphenol Corp (APH), Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK)
* Europe Market
* Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2% at the close in London
* Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers, led by Austrian chipmaker AMS AG, up 20%.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

If a man does not of his own free will put himself last among his creatures,
there is no salvation for him.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.
                             -Francois de la Rochefoucauld, 1613-1680

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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