April 9, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April 9, 1917 – Canadians Capture Vimy Ridge
World War I – Arthur Currie leads all four divisions of the Canadian Corps, fighting as a unit for the First time, with one of Lt.-Gen. Julian Byng’s British brigades, to Easter Monday victory, capturing most of Vimy Ridge by nightfall.
Go to article »

Also on this day in…
1865: US Civil War ends.
1866: Civil Rights Bill passed
1867: the U.S. Senate ratified the Alaska Purchase. For $7.2 million, the U.S. became the new owner of 586,412 square miles of what the public cynically called “Seward’s Icebox.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Stunning pictures from Scotland’s very own Sahara – the wind blasted Luskentyre dunes of the Isle of Harris. Photographer Guy Edwards said the recent wind conditions have been perfect for creating fresh patterns on some of the highest dunes in the UK. 
Credit: The Telegraph

Skeletons of two Jurassic age (161-145 million years) dinosaurs, a Diplodocus (back) and an Allosaurus (front) are displayed before being auctioned on April 11 at the Drouot auction house in Paris. 
Credit: The Telegraph

Oscar, a 23 month old Cavoodle waits to audition for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – La Boheme in Sydney, Australia. 
Credit: The Telegraph
Market Closes for April 9^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed higher but gave up much of their earlier gains on another trading day that saw markets weaken toward the end of the session.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 20 points or 0.1 percent to 15,227.70 after earlier gaining as much as 0.7 percent.
     Energy shares fell 0.2 percent despite crude prices rising the most in more than two weeks, as Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.’s decision to suspend most work on a pipeline expansion added to concerns about energy producers’ ability to get their product to market. Kinder Morgan fell 13 percent, the most since its May IPO.
     Health-care stocks tumbled 2.8 percent as cannabis shares fell for a sixth of seven days, while consumer staples rose 1.5 percent on strong gains in food retailers.
     In other moves:
                           Stocks
* Kinross Gold Corp. lost 8.7 percent, the most since 2016, on its exposure to Russia amid new U.S. sanctions
* Crescent Point Energy Corp. fell 0.2 percent after gaining as much as 4.3 percent. An activist investor has nominated four directors to the company’s board, saying the current leadership has been an “abject failure”
* MTY Food Group Inc. lost 1.1 percent after first-quarter revenue missed the lowest analyst estimate
                           Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $16.25 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,336.30 an ounce, the highest in a week
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.6 percent to C$1.2706 per U.S. dollar, the strongest since February, as Canadian business sentiment remains elevated
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 2.14 percent
US
By Eric J. Weiner
     (Bloomberg) — The rally U.S. stocks faltered in the final hour of trading, with a report that federal agents raided the offices of President Donald Trump’s lawyer adding to the swoon. Equities finished higher on the strength of gains in technology shares that bore the brunt of last week’s decline.
     The S&P 500 Index pared an advance that approached 2 percent to 0.3 percent by the end of the session. The final leg down came after the New York Times reported the F.B.I. raided Michael Cohen’s office. Fears that China and the U.S. would escalate a trade war took a back seat Monday after equities rose in Asia and Europe, though shares in sectors that would be hit hardest by a trade spat underperformed. Strength in chipmakers pushed the Nasdaq 100 Index up more than 2.5 percent, but that rally faded to 0.6 percent by the close.
     The late selling damped what looked to be a stellar rebound from last week, when trade angst rattled global financial markets. Instead, political risk related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian meddling in the U.S. election resurfaced. Tech still outperformed as investors began to shift focus to the earnings season that starts later in the week.
     That’s not to say the trade issue has vanished. China was said to be reviewing ways to use its currency as a weapon as President Xi Jinping is set to deliver a speech Tuesday that may include a strong warning about the consequences of a prolonged dispute. Still, currency moves, including a recovery in emerging markets, bore out the sense that calm may prevail. Trump said his administration will “probably” come to an agreement on the dispute with China.
     “What the market will now want to hopefully see is some form of negotiation starting between the Chinese and the Americans,” James Barty, Bank of America Corp.’s head of global cross-asset and European equity strategy, said on Bloomberg TV.  “It’s not in anybody’s interest to go down to a full-blown trade war.”
     Meanwhile, in Russia the ruble plunged and the Moex Russia Index of stocks tumbled the most in four years after the U.S. sanctioned some prominent Kremlin-connected billionaires and their companies. Bitcoin briefly traded above $7,000 before sliding back.
     European stocks pared their gains, after earlier hitting a three-week high, while a measure of global shares advanced. Safe-haven assets showed little reaction to a missile attack on a Syrian airbase that Russia blamed on Israel.
     Here’s what is coming up this week:
* Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks at the start of his second term.
* China’s Xi gives a keynote address at Boao Forum Tuesday.
* Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg testifies at two Congressional hearings Tuesday and Wednesday.
* U.S. CPI data and FOMC minutes due Wednesday.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. report first-quarter earnings Friday.
     These are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 2,613.16 as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 added 0.6 percent and the Russell 2000 Index finished higher by 0.1 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 1 percent.
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.3 percent, the largest rise in a month.
                         Currencies
* The Bloomberg dollar spot index fell 0.2 percent
* The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.2321.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2 percent to 106.76 per dollar.
* The British pound advanced 0.3 percent to $1.4132.
* The Russian ruble declined 3.9 percent to 60.3579 per dollar, the biggest decrease since June 2015.
                         Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added one basis point to 2.7753 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 1.407 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.504 percent.
                         Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude surged 2.1 percent to $63.34 a barrel, the biggest advance in more than two weeks.
* Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,337.21 an ounce.
* LME aluminum soared 6.6 percent, its biggest bounce since January 1992.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.2 percent, its largest gain in almost two months.
–With assistance from Eddie van der Walt, Joanna Ossinger and Luke Kawa.

Have a great night.
 

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
                        -Emmanuel James Rohn “Jim”, 1930-2009

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
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