March 10, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,
Tangents:

1496 ~ Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.  Go to article »
1862~ paper money issued in the US
1875~ Telephone invented.

The Earth and the moon aren’t made of exactly the same stuff.
 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Spring has sprung for these lambs, they were born at Bocketts Farm near Leatherhead in Surrey, which is due to welcome 440 lambs by mid April.
CREDIT: OLIVER DIXON/TRIANGLE NEWS

The Worm Moon setting behind Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
CREDIT: NICK BULL/PICTUREEXCLUSIVE.COM

Supermoon shines over Camlica mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
CREDIT: ERDEM SAHIN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Market Closes for March 10^th ,2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Nasdaq introduced Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock, a unit investment trust that functioned like a mutual fund but traded like a stock.  The units, trading under the symbol QQQ, held shares in each of the stocks in the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index. The shares closed the first trading day at $51.062.  Today they closed at
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 3.1 percent at 14,958.09 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 4 percent on Nov. 30, 2011 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 10.3 percent. Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 173 of 230 shares rose, while 54 fell. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.9 percent. Ballard Power Systems Inc. had the largest increase, rising 17.8 percent.
Insights
* This quarter, the index fell 12 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2011
* The index declined 6.5 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 3.6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 16.8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 3.3 percent above its low on March 10, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 8.9 percent in the past 5 days and fell 16 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.9 on a trailing basis and 13.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.22t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 38.15 percent compared with 36.64 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.09 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 161.6236| 3.6| 25/1
Industrials | 88.5079| 5.3| 30/1
Information Technology | 58.1292| 6.1| 9/1
Energy | 37.7037| 1.9| 16/14
Communication Services | 33.8190| 3.9| 8/0
Materials | 23.4012| 1.4| 37/9
Consumer Staples | 14.7924| 2.3| 7/4
Consumer Discretionary | 13.0060| 2.3| 12/3
Health Care | 6.8155| 4.5| 7/2
Real Estate | 5.8208| 1.0| 17/8
Utilities | 0.2309| 0.0| 5/11
* The benchmark 10-year bond fell and the yield rose 10.8 basis points to 0.645 percent

US
By Jeremy Herron and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. rallied back from the worst rout since the financial crisis on expectations the Trump administration will implement stimulus measures to counter the economic impact from the coronavirus. Treasuries fell and oil jumped. The S&P 500 rallied 4.9% as investors digested a trickle of news that President Donald Trump and his team are looking at measures including cutting payroll taxes and aiding ailing businesses like airlines and cruise operators. Stocks whipsawed throughout another wild day on Wall Street, wiping out a gain of 3.5% to turn negative before a furious rally in the final two hours of trading delivered the biggest gain since December 2018. “It’s market March Madness at the moment, complete with surprising losses, upsets, and comebacks,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial.

Among the major moves:
* The S&P 500 rose 4.9% as of 4 p.m. in New York.
* Airlines rallied after Trump’s comments. He did not offer details on what he’d do for the group that’s among the hardest hit, as event cancellations mount.
* Energy companies jumped 5% with oil surging.
* Apple spiked higher by 7.2%.
* The CBOE Volatility Index fell below 50.
* The 10-year Treasury yield topped 0.75%. German 10-year rates stood at -0.79%
* West Texas Intermediate surged 11% to climb above $34 a barrel.

Volatility continued to grip global financial markets rattled by the virus and an all-out oil price war. U.S. stocks plunged the most since 2008 on Monday, and further selling took futures 20% from records before the rally sparked by Trump’s promise for action Tuesday. The S&P 500 is down 15% from its record. So far, the president has criticized the Federal Reserve and Democratic congressional leaders without providing details of his proposals. With markets on edge, signs had started to mount that governments around the world are awaking to need for stimulus measures to combat the virus that is threatening to plunge the global economy into recession. At the same time, measures to contain the coronavirus continue to undermine prospects for corporate earnings, and raise the danger of a funding crisis, while the oil price crash threatens a swath of defaults among producers. Italy added nationwide travel restrictions to its effective lockdown of the northern region of the country.“A strong rebound today, if it in fact holds, does not mean the volatility, or even the worst, is behind us. Rather, investors should expect continued gyrations both up and down until there is greater certainty on coronavirus,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. Elsewhere, Japanese government bonds tumbled after an auction of five-year debt flopped.
Here are some key events coming up:

* The European Central Bank’s policy decision comes Thursday amid expectations it may ease policy.
* The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer unveils the government’s 2020 budget on Wednesday.
* The U.S. core consumer price index, due Wednesday, is expected to remain subdued in February.

Have a great night!

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.
                                                             -James Baldwin, 1924-1987

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