May 21, 2019 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 model poses with body art and headwear made of Peonies at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London

CREIDT: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

Visitors stroll through a carpet of moss flowers, called shibazakura in Japanese, in full bloom at Shibazakura Park in the Hokkaido town of Ozora

FROM: TELEGRAPH MAY 21, 2019

The Edgar Evans club annual tug of war competition on Bramble Bank in the central Solent at low tide. The event raised £600 for the Buckland Park Play Centre in Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK, which coincidently is situated on the same road where Edgar Evans lived in 1907 with his wife and three children. The Edgar Evans club was inspired by its namesake due to the number of similar connection Edgar has with its founders, who have served in the Royal Navy and been part of the Royal Tournament Command field Gun Crew for both Portsmouth and Devonport.

CREDIT: SIENNA ANDERSON/ SOUL PHOTOGRAPHY
Market Closes for May 21^st, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:

Canada
By Carolina Wilson
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, as U.S. equities also rebounded in the wake of the latest trade-war moves.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index climbed close to 0.2% to 16,426 in Toronto. Communication services and financial companies outperformed other industry groups, while materials stocks dragged down the benchmark. Shares of New Gold retreated 10% to the lowest level in seven months. Technology also declined.
     Meanwhile, the Canada crude discount hit its widest in 2019 as Alberta increased output limits and oil-sands producers forged ahead with new projects. Western Canadian Select traded at $15.75 less per barrel than West Texas Intermediate on Tuesday, the widest discount since Dec. 31.
     In other moves:
Stocks
* Premium Brands Holdings climbed almost 9% after completing a private placement of 2.63m shares to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
* First Quantum fell 7.2% after Citi downgraded the stock on Zambia risk
* Gran Tierra Energy slumped as much as 6.1% after getting cut at RBC, which said its shares are lagging 2019’s recovery in oil prices 
* CAE declined 3.7% after being downgraded to market perform at BMO and to hold at Desjardins
Ratings
* CAE CN: CAE Downgraded to Market Perform at BMO; PT C$36
** CAE CN: CAE Downgraded to Hold at Desjardins; PT C$37
* CIA CN: Champion Iron Rated New Buy at Canaccord
* DOL CN: Dollarama Upgraded to Outperform at Wells Fargo; PT C$48
* FM CN: First Quantum Minerals Downgraded to Neutral at Citi
* GTE CN: Gran Tierra Downgraded to Outperform at RBC
* JE CN: Just Energy Group Raised to Speculative Buy at Canaccord; PT C$6
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $15.75 discount to WTI
* Gold spot prices fell 0.3% to 1,274.64 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.34048 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.755%
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday as the trade-war driven back-and-forth that has dominated markets this month showed few signs of abating. Treasuries slipped while the dollar gained.
     The S&P 500 Index climbed after the U.S. decided to grant limited relief for consumers and carriers that do business with Huawei Technologies — a day after the White House’s moves against the Chinese telecom giant battered stocks. Semiconductors bounced back from yesterday’s 4% sell-off, logging their first gain in four sessions. Risk assets have been whipsawed in May as the world’s largest economies ratchet up both rhetoric and action on trade, with the latest phase focused on Huawei and its suppliers and customers. For all the turmoil, a gauge of global stocks remains within 5% of an all-time high, while the S&P 500 is about 3% from a record. Against that backdrop, investors will be closely watching U.S. data this week, as well as Federal Reserve policy- meeting minutes due on Wednesday.
     “There’s two things that drive the market — emotion and fundamentals,” Kevin Miller, chief executive officer of Minnesota-based E-Valuator Funds, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “Uncertainty is obviously something the markets do not like, but from a fundamental perspective, the markets are still really strong.”
     In Europe, technology shares powered the Stoxx 600 Index higher. Chinese equities had the strongest gains in the Asian session, while their Japanese peers ended lower. An advance for Samsung Electronics Co. helped bolster Korean shares, on bets it may benefit from Huawei’s need to shift away from American suppliers.
     Elsewhere, the pound fluctuated after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said she’s prepared to offer parliament a vote on holding a second Brexit referendum. The British currency spiked higher on her remarks before giving up those gains as some key lawmakers responded with skepticism. Turkey’s lira stayed lower after the country’s central bank effectively lowered its main interest rate, undoing a limited tightening of policy.
     Here are some notable events coming up:
* The Fed minutes of its FOMC April 30-May 1 policy meeting will be released Wednesday.
* Counting of votes from the Indian general elections takes place Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempts to secure a second term.
* ECB President Mario Draghi speaks in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
* The European Parliament holds continent-wide elections May 23-26.
* On Thursday, the ECB publishes its account of the April monetary policy decision.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 0.9% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased 0.2%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.5%, its biggest gain in five weeks.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2% to its highest in five months.
* The euro decreased less than 0.05% to $1.1161.
* The British pound sank 0.2% to $1.27.
* The Japanese yen decreased 0.5% to 110.56 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 2.43%, the highest in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to -0.06%, the highest in over a week.
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 1.083%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $62.99 a barrel, the biggest drop in over a week.
* Gold dipped 0.2% to $1,274.75 an ounce, the weakest in almost three weeks.
–With assistance from Amanda Wang, Andreea Papuc and Yakob Peterseil.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The work of today is the history of tomorrow and we are its makers.
                                                 -Juliette Gordon Low, 1860-1927

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