February 26, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Most of us will probably never journey to the moon. But this latest footage from NASA gets us pretty close. -CNN.

On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the garage of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A rainbow arcs over East Cliff at West Bay in Dorset during a brief spell of sunshine as a shower clouds passes overhead.
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

A group of people dresses as ‘Gilles of Binche’ arrive to the Grand Place to pick up their jubilee medals at the City Hall during a traditional carnival in Binche, Belgium.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/FRANCISCO SECO

A dress rehearsal for the Whitney Houston hologram tour, which opens tonight at City Hall in Sheffield, before embarking on a international tour.
CREDIT: DANNU LAWSON/PA WIRE

Market Closes for February 26^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to an all-time low Tuesday.  The yield on the 10-year note fell as low as 1.310% on an intraday basis and settled at 1.328%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 1.377% Monday. Both of those marks beat record lows set in July 2016 after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.

On this day in 1954, the New York Stock Exchange introduced its first major advertising campaign with the theme “Own Your Share of American Business.”
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks erased their gains for the year, falling to the lowest since Dec. 18 amid the spreading coronavirus. The S&P/TSX Composite Index declined 0.8%, its fourth consecutive drop, to 17,041.92. All sectors were in the red except technology, which got a boost from Kinaxis Inc. The software company jumped 13% after releasing a better-than- expected 2020 revenue outlook. Energy stocks led the broader market’s decline, losing 1.7% as crude prices fell to the lowest level in a year. In total, 174 of 231 stocks in the index fell, while 53 rose.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $14.35 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,642.40 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3% to C$1.3319 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield was little changed at 1.21%

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -46.4655| -1.7| 2/28
Financials | -41.2466| -0.7| 4/22
Industrials | -24.8596| -1.3| 3/28
Materials | -10.1731| -0.5| 16/30
Consumer Discretionary | -7.0840| -1.1| 3/14
Consumer Staples | -5.2273| -0.8| 0/11
Communication Services | -3.9436| -0.4| 2/6
Utilities | -3.8731| -0.4| 4/12
Real Estate | -2.3849| -0.4| 10/14
Health Care | -0.5246| -0.3| 2/6
Information Technology | 10.3273| 1.0| 7/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Royal Bank of | | | |
Canada | -22.9000| -2.1| 27.6| 1.2
Enbridge | -12.2400| -1.6| 49.2| 1.1
Suncor Energy | -8.7800| -2.1| 18.9| -11.0
Kinaxis | 2.3490| 12.5| 406.0| 13.1
CIBC | 3.3280| 1.0| 85.6| -0.9
Shopify | 5.0240| 1.1| -5.1| 21.5

US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities traded near the lows of the day as investors digested a barrage of reports on the widening coronavirus outbreak. The dollar advanced. The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses after a report said officials in the New York region are monitoring people for exposure. The benchmark index had slid more than 6% over the prior two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower, while the Nasdaq Composite gained. Ten-year Treasury yields approached the record-low close set Tuesday. European shares pared losses to close mostly higher, while Asian equities finished in the red. Oil bounced around $50 a barrel and gold edged higher. “No one has any idea the depth and duration of the coronavirus’ negative impact on the global economy and corporate earnings,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell. President Donald Trump and federal health officials plan to brief the U.S. public Wednesday on efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Health officials in Nassau County on New York’s Long Island are monitoring 83 people who have visited mainland China or may have come in contact with the virus.
Earlier, German and American officials warned of a pandemic. Diageo Plc and Danone SA said that the outbreak will hit sales in China. The first cases in Greece and in South America emerged, while Spain locked down a seaside resort hotel with about 1,000 guests and workers inside. Risk assets are struggling to rebound as coronavirus cases steadily climb outside the epicenter in China. South Korea said its national total rose to more than 1,000, while American health officials Tuesday warned that they expect the epidemic to spread in the U.S. Traders may be looking out for further signs of policy accommodation after American central bankers said they are closely monitoring the spreading virus, though it’s “still too soon” to say whether it will change the outlook. “People are taking a step back and reviewing the data and seeing how much this coronavirus is progressing,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede Trust Co. Elsewhere, a gauge of high-yield credit risk for European issuers rose for a fifth day. Industrial metals and minerals mostly dropped, including copper and iron ore. Bitcoin slumped for a third day.
These are some key events coming up:
* Earnings keep rolling in from companies including: Baidu Inc., Best Buy Co. Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc. on Thursday; and London Stock Exchange Group Plc on Friday.
* The Bank of Korea announces its policy decision on Thursday, with rising risks of an interest-rate cut.
* U.S. jobless claims, GDP and durable goods data are out Thursday.
* Japan industrial production, jobs, and retail sales figures are due on Friday.

These are major moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.2% to 3,117.37 as of 2:44 p.m. New York time, hitting the lowest in more than 11 weeks with its fifth consecutive decline.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4% to 26,945.14, reaching the lowest in four months on its fifth consecutive decline.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.1% to 8,965.64, the first advance in a week.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index sank 0.5% to 540.28, reaching the lowest in more than 16 weeks on its fifth straight decline.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed at 404.62, the first advance in a week.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2% to 1,214.35.
* The euro was little changed at $1.0899, the strongest in almost two weeks.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 110.22 per dollar.
* The British pound fell 0.8% to $1.2916, the largest fall in three weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank four basis points to 1.30%, reaching the lowest on record with its fifth straight decline.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries dipped three basis points to1.79%, hitting the lowest on record with its fifth straight decline.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased two basis points to 0.504%, hitting the lowest in almost 20 weeks with its seventh straight decline.
Commodities
* Gold strengthened 0.7% to $1,648.20 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.5% to $2.57 a pound, the lowest in two weeks.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 2.9% to $48.67 a barrel, the lowest in 14 months.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

And what he greatly thought, he nobly dared.
                                               -Homer, c. 800 BCE-c. 701 BCE

As my knowledge of things grew I felt more and more the delight of the world I was in.
                                              -Helen Keller, 1880-1968

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