April 29, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

1429 – Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English. Go to article »

1899 – Duke Ellington, b.

1901 – Emperor Hirohito, b.

The Poem:

Too Busy

    –by David Budbill

Have ambition and ego ruined my life?

Where have my easy days gone?

If only I had a monk friend to wander off into the mountains to visit.  
If only I were so idle I had time to visit him.  
If only we could while away the day drinking tea, playing flutes, and talking.  
If only, as the moon rose, my friend could point the way home through the dark mountains with the night sky’s lantern to light the way.

If only I were happy with only that.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Competitors ride their bikes along sand dunes during the Stage 1 of the 14^th edition of Titan Desert 2019 mountain biking race around Merzouga in Morocco —CREDIT: FRANCK FIFE/AFP

Competitors run across Tower Bridge as they compete in the 2019 London Marathon in central London. — CREDIT: TOLGA AKMEN/GETTY IMAGES

Great Britain’s Hayley Carruthers crawls over the line during the women’s elite race. — CREDIT:REUTERS/PAUL CHILDS

Market Closes for April 29^th, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The Dow has climbed 5.7% since November, putting the blue-chip index on course to end the six-month November to April span higher for a 10th consecutive time. That would mark the longest streak since the Dow posted 16 consecutive gains in that stretch from 1985 to 2000.
Canada
By Carolina Wilson
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks were mixed Monday after closing unchanged the previous week. An underperformance by miners outweighed marijuana stocks’ gains. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.08 percent to 16,600.
     Miners were the biggest losers as metal prices declined. Health care stocks were among the best performers, together with technology and financials. 
     Meanwhile, U.S. stocks rose above Friday’s record high at the start of a week packed with data that will provide clues on global economic growth. Benchmark Treasury yields climbed after a large five-year block sale, while the U.S. dollar was little changed and the euro rallied.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Restaurant Brands fell 1.5 percent after 1Q Tim Horton’s comp sales unexpectedly decline
* Hexo Corp. rose 6 percent, continuing gains from last week when Desjardins Securities initiated coverage of the company with a price target of C$14 per share. Canopy Growth also gained 4.1 percent. 
* Capital Power declined 3.3 percent after reporting a 1Q normalized EPS that missed the lowest estimate
* Metal miners shares including Novagold, New Gold, Mag Silver Corp., Endeavour Mining and First Majestic were among the decliners 
* First Quantum declined 3 percent after the company surprised investors with early release of earnings
Ratings
* DGC CN: Detour Gold Raised to Outperform at Macquarie; Price Target C$14
* ECA CN: Encana Downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan
* GWO CN: Great-West Lifeco Downgraded to Hold at Canaccord; PT C$35
** GWO CN: Cresco Labs, Detour, Encana, Guyana Goldfields: Canada Pre-Mkt
* LGF/A: Lions Gate Downgraded to In-line at Imperial; PT $16
** LGF/A: Lions Gate May Miss Guidance, Imperial Capital Says in Downgrade
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.50 discount to WTI
* Gold spot prices fell 0.5 percent to $1,279.69 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar remains flat at C$1.3452 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.722 percent
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose above their record high at the start of a week packed with data that will provide clues on global economic growth. Bonds fell.
     Financial companies led gains in the S&P 500 Index, while real-estate shares retreated. Benchmark Treasury yields climbed after a large five-year block sale. The U.S. dollar was little changed and the euro rallied. Crude had a volatile session as a severe crackdown on Iranian oil exports ticked closer.
     Investors are assessing whether the economy and corporate earnings will continue to support the equity bull run. U.S. consumer spending rebounded in March while the Federal Reserve’s preferred underlying inflation gauge eased to a one-year low, according to a Commerce Department report on Monday. Policy makers are expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday, though new growth and prices data may affect their characterization of the economy.
     The next round of trade talks with China will get under way this week with significant issues still unresolved, but with enforcement mechanisms “close to done,” according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
     “There’s a lot of things from a macro standpoint that appear to be pretty supportive of the stock market,” said Mark Stoeckle, chief executive officer of Adams Funds, which has about $2.5 billion in assets under management. “The Fed pivoted, and trade — at least on the surface — appears to be progressing in the right direction. In addition to that, you see a lot of companies that are reporting some pretty good numbers.”
     Almost 80 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings beat analyst estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The results are looking good as the bar had been lowered coming into this season, said Michael Hans, chief investment officer at Clarfeld Financial Advisors.
     Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebounded as a rally in banks outweighed a drop in euro-area economic confidence to a two-year low. Markets in Japan remained shut for holidays, with many others set to follow suit on May 1.
     Here are some notable events coming up:
* Companies reporting earnings include: Apple, GE, Pfizer, HSBC, Macquarie, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and McDonald’s. 
* U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin travel to Beijing to continue trade talks. China and the U.S. hope to seal a deal by early May.
* Euro-zone GDP data and China’s manufacturing PMI are due on Tuesday.
* The U.S. Fed’s rate decision is on Wednesday, while the Bank of England sets interest rates Thursday.
* Friday brings the U.S. jobs report: non-farm payrolls are projected to rise by 187,000 in April. Economists expect an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, with average hourly earnings growth picking up to 3.3 percent.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 2,943.03 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1 percent.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.3 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.5 percent.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
* The euro climbed 0.3 percent to $1.1185.
* The British pound rose 0.2 percent to $1.2937.
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1 percent to 111.67 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.53 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.00 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 1.157 percent.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index declined 0.3 percent.
* West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $63.50 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,281.50 an ounce.
–With assistance from Yakob Peterseil, Adam Haigh, Robert
Brand, Todd White, Sarah Ponczek and Lu Wang.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The imagination equips us to perceive reality when it is not fully materialized.

                                                        -Mary Caroline Richards, 1916-1999

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