October 02, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Tangents:
1187 – Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule.  Go to article »

Mahatma Gandhi, b. 1869.
In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive
resolves itself into crystal clearness.  Our life is a long and arduous quest after truth.  -Mahatma Gandhi.

1950~ Peanuts comic strip debuts.
Sting, b.1951.

Researchers find the tallest known tree in the Amazon. –Bloomberg.
What it’s like to become an overnight millionaire. -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People out in the wind and rain in Dublin city centre, Ireland.
CREDIT: NIALL CARSON/PA

Judges converse in Westminster Abbey before the Judge’s Ceremony in London. The legal year begins at the beginning of October and since the middle ages has been marked with a procession of judges from Temple Bar to Westminster Abbey for a religious service.
CREDIT: PETER SUMMERS/GETTY IMAGES

A formation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy marches in a military parade celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
CREDIT: BARCROFT MEDIA

Market Closes for October 02^nd, 2019  

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
October is often considered a spooky month for investors, but history suggests the fears are overblown.
The crashes of 1929 and 1987 and the tumult of 2008 have given the month a bad reputation.
Over the past two decades, however, October has been the second-best month of the year for the S&P 500, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fell Wednesday, led by the financials and energy sectors. Oil fell to the lowest level in almost two months after swelling U.S. inventories added to a pessimistic and weakening economic backdrop. The S&P/TSX Composite lost 0.8% to 16,311, as equities declined for a fourth straight session in Toronto. Manulife Financial Corp. dropped 3.4%, a laggard among financials. Eight of eleven industry groups sectors fell. Meanwhile, Tom Palmer took the helm at Newmont Goldcorp Corp. shortly after bullion had its longest streak of quarterly gains since 2011. Now investors are looking to partake of that windfall.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14 discount to WTI
* Gold spot price rose 1.5% to $1,500.63
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.7% to C$1.3319 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell to 1.313%
Insights
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.8 percent below its 52-week high on Sept. 20, 2019 and 18.4 percent above its low on Dec. 24, 2018
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2.8 percent in the past 5 days and fell 0.8 percent in the past 30 days

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -83.0178| -1.5| 3/24
Energy | -49.2578| -1.8| 1/31
Industrials | -23.0753| -1.3| 1/31
Information Technology | -5.1874| -0.6| 1/8
Communication Services | -2.4852| -0.3| 1/6
Real Estate | -0.8266| -0.1| 11/12
Utilities | -0.4474| -0.1| 7/6
Health Care | -0.1041| 0.0| 5/5
Consumer Staples | 2.1909| 0.3| 6/4
Consumer Discretionary | 7.1681| 1.0| 5/11
Materials | 18.3715| 1.0| 35/13
US
By Randall Jensen and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks tumbled to the lowest since August as another disappointing report fueled fears that the American economy is slowing. Treasuries climbed with gold and the yen on demand for haven assets. The S&P 500’s two-day slump was the most in two months as private payrolls fell short of estimates a day after a manufacturing gauge slumped to the lowest in a decade. The index plunged below 2,900 and took out its average price for the past 100 days, levels it hadn’t breached in a month. Carmakers sank after quarterly sales reports from Ford and General Motors added to concern over thinning profit margins in the industry. All S&P 500 sectors but one sank more than 1%, with industries most sensitive to economic growth dropping the most. Tech and industrials plunged 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled nearly 500 points. The hiring numbers pushed the 10-year Treasury yield lower for a fifth straight day as it pushed below 1.6%. The yen rose versus the dollar and gold spiked above $1,500. The equity rout spread to Europe, where the Stoxx 600 saw its biggest slide in 10 months and the FTSE 100 dropped the most since 2016. Oil fell below $53 a barrel after a report showed U.S. crude inventories increased.
The disappointing data out of the U.S. and Europe, as well as weak earnings reports from automakers this week, is forcing investors to reconsider their strategies. The most recent economic numbers are driving concerns that a slowdown, which had been mostly confined to manufacturing, may be spreading to the consumer as the U.S.-China trade war drags on. Those fears increased bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month. Focus now turns to services PMI data on Thursday and the nonfarm payrolls data on Friday. “In addition to ISM yesterday, you had auto sales data. You had Honda, Toyota, Nissan with double-digit declines. Much worse than expected,” Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird, said by phone. “It raises enough questions about how resilient is the consumer at this point. We haven’t seen enough to say ‘Yeah, the consumer is folding,’ but questions are starting to intensify.”
Here are some key events coming up this week:
* The monthly jobs report is due on Friday.
* Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak Friday.
* The Reserve Bank of India sets policy on Friday.

Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 1.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.9%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 2.7%.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index sank 3.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.4%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro advanced 0.2% to $1.0959.
* The Japanese yen gained 0.5% to 107.19 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased four basis points to 1.59%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.500%.
* Japan’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to -0.164%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude lost 2% to $52.56 a barrel.
* Gold increased 1.1% to $1,505.60 an ounce.
–With assistance from Sybilla Gross, Adam Haigh, Elena Mazneva, Sophie Caronello and Todd White.
Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.
                                  -Herbert Spencer, 1820-1903

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