July 18, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: 
Carolann is out of the office this afternoon, I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A gorgeous morning glow spreads over Xiangjiang. Fisherman catch fish on the Red River, forming a beautiful morning fishing picture. CREDIT: BARCROFT IMAGES

Indian police fire a jet of dyed water from their water cannon at Kashmiri government teachers during a protest against the government in Srinagar, India. Hundreds of Kashmir government teachers took to the streets in the city centre to demand an increase in their salaries. CREDIT: YAWAR NAZIR/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for July 18th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell, bucking the trend set by European and U.S. markets, as a widening discount for Canadian crude oil pressured energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 42 points or 0.3 percent to 16,477.40, the lowest in a week. The energy sector slid 0.7 percent as Western Canada Select sold for $25 less than a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, the widest gap since June 1.
     Consumer staples fell 1.2 percent. Goldman Sachs cut its view on the household goods and food sector to cautious, citing reduced pricing power and lower margins. Saputo Inc. lost 2.2 percent.
     In other moves:
                             Stocks
* Detour Gold Corp. rose 9.7 percent, the most in almost a year. Another investor joined Paulson & Co. in calling for the miner to put itself up for sale
* Cameco Corp. fell 1 percent amid U.S. plans to open an investigation into whether uranium imports are hurting national security
* Norbord Inc. fell 6.7 percent, the most since September, as lumber futures tumbled by the exchange maximum of $15
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $25 discount to WTI
* Gold was little changed at $1,227.70 an ounce
                            FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to C$1.3173 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 2.15 percent
US
By Olivia Schaber and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — Equities rose, led by gains in financials and industrial companies, after Morgan Stanley earnings beat forecasts, helping to offset a slide in tech stalwarts such as Apple and Microsoft. The peso swung between gains and losses after President Donald Trump said he may prioritize a bilateral trade deal with Mexico.
     With Morgan Stanley’s results Wednesday, the six largest U.S. banks have reported second-quarter earnings that mostly surpassed estimates, helping to push the S&P 500 Financials Index 2.7 percent higher since Friday. The dollar held onto gains as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy during his second day of testimony to Congress.
     “Banks are leading the way today as they did the past couple days,” Lindsey Bell, an investment strategist at CFRA, said by phone. “We’re actually seeing stocks respond very strongly to good earnings beats.”
     The U.S. and Mexico are “getting closer” to reaching a trade deal, and the administration may advance separate talks with Canada later, Trump told reporters at the start of a cabinet meeting in Washington on Wednesday. Trump said earlier this year he may break up talks for a new North American Free Trade Agreement into separate tracks with Canada and Mexico.
     Crude bounced between gains and losses as investors assessed conflicting supply-and-demand signals in the world’s biggest economy.
     Elsewhere, Bitcoin extended its biggest three-day rally this year, earlier climbing above $7,500.
     These are some key events coming up this week:
* Earnings season continues, with reports due from companies including: Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Unilever.
* Initial U.s. jobless claims for the week ended July 14, the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey and the Conference Board’s U.S. Leading Index will be released Thursday. 

     These are the main moves in markets:
                             Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to 2,815.62 as of 4:05 p.m. in New York.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent to 25,199.29.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed after climbing to a record high of 7,855.12 Tuesday.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.7 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index slumped 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5 percent.
                           Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent, the second consecutive daily gain.
* The euro slipped 0.2 percent to $1.1644.
* The British pound dropped 0.3 percent to $1.3080.
* The Japanese yen was mostly flat at 112.88 per dollar.
* South Africa’s rand was little changed at 13.28 per dollar.
                             Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose for a third consecutive day, climbing two basis points to 2.88 percent.
* Italian 10-year yields rose four basis points to 2.51 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell abut one basis point to 0.34 percent.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2 percent to $68.91 a barrel.
* Gold was little changed at $1,227.77 an ounce.

Have a great evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Megan

Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.
-Denis Waitley

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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com