April 20, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1980 – The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida. Go to article »

For more ideas on what to read, watch and listen to, may we suggest these 12 new books our editors liked, a glance at the latest small-screen recommendations from Watching and our music critics’ latest playlist. –from The New York Times.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A ray of sunlight illuminates an American flag in front of the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City.
CREDIT: GARY HERSHORN/GETTY IMAGES
A man and his dog get their daily exercise at Whitley Bay beach this morning as the UK continues in lockdown
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA WIRE
Spaced eight feet apart, United States Air Force Academy cadets celebrate their graduation as a team of F-16 Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
CREDIT: MICHAEL CIAGLO/ GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for April 20th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1812, mobs of manual laborers smashed and burned a textile mill near Nottingham, England, enraged by its use of mechanized looms, which they feared would put them out of work. Inspired by Ned Ludd, an earlier (and perhaps fictitious) enemy of technology, they became known as Luddites, which still endures as a synonym for people who oppose technological progress. Over the decades to come, England created more jobs than any other nation ever had—even as its factories became more mechanized.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks eked out a gain on Monday as Shopify Inc. hit a record, while oil prices plunged below zero in an unprecedented crash.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.2% on Monday, while U.S. stocks fell. Shopify gained for an eighth session, putting it in a tight race with one of Canada’s largest banks to become the second-most valuable company on the nation’s stock market.
The price on the futures contract for West Texas crude that is due to expire Tuesday fell into negative territory – minus $37.63 a barrel. This means sellers were actually paying buyers to take the stuff off their hands. The reason: with the pandemic bringing the economy to a standstill, there is so much unused oil sloshing around that American energy companies have run out of room to store it.
However, energy stocks largely shook off the plunge in oil, while some investors are attempting to call a bottom. “The end to the oil bloodbath is in sight,” said Eric Nuttall, a portfolio manager at Ninepoint Partners in Toronto.
Meanwhile, supply cuts that were supposed to bolster the beleaguered lumber market are now creating an unintended effect: the wood chips required to make sought-after toilet paper and wipes during the coronavirus pandemic are becoming more scarce.
The Canadian dollar weakened about 0.9% to C$1.4126 per U.S. dollar and the 10-year government bond yield fell about 2.3 basis points to 0.631%.
By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.2 percent, or 28.4 to 14,388.28 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 10.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.7 percent. Ag Growth International Inc. had the largest increase, rising 15.1 percent.
Today, 134 of 230 shares rose, while 95 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 7.5 percent
* The index declined 13 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 4.5 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 19.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 28.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.2 percent in the past 5 days and rose 21 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.2 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.19t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 85.02 percent compared with 90.95 percent in the previous session and the average of 87.19 percent over the past month

==================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
==================================================
Information Technology | 47.0081| 4.1| 7/3
Materials | 43.9766| 2.3| 39/8
Consumer Staples | 3.5231| 0.5| 10/1
Real Estate | 2.1663| 0.5| 17/9
Health Care | 1.8186| 1.2| 7/3
Communication Services | -1.6942| -0.2| 5/3
Utilities | -8.3226| -1.1| 5/11
Consumer Discretionary | -10.1806| -1.9| 4/11
Energy | -11.5832| -0.6| 11/18
Industrials | -12.3704| -0.7| 17/14
Financials | -25.9243| -0.6| 12/14
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell from a six-week high, with investors on edge as oil futures plunged to unprecedented levels and a spate of corporate earnings on tap.
The S&P 500 halted a two-day gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 2%. Chevron and Exxon led losses in the blue-chip index as West Texas oil futures expiring Tuesday turned negative for the first time, primarily because the end of the May contract forces physical receipt at a time when storage capacity is low. June prices fell below $22 a barrel. “If there is one thing that’s certain about oil — it’s very unpredictable, especially because prices are really dictated in the futures markets,” said Rick Swope, senior director of investor education at E*Trade Financial. “When it comes to oil, expectations often determine reality.” After the close of trading, IBM reported a drop in first- quarter revenue and pulled its profit forecast for the year.
Meanwhile, Congress continued to negotiate a fresh spending bill to offset the pandemic’s effects, and signs have emerged that New York is past the worst of its outbreak.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged higher. Shares retreated across much of Asia, though the benchmark in Shanghai rose. European bonds dropped as Treasuries advanced. Investors start the week weighing both the oil crash and signs that Congress is close to a fresh spending package. The pace of earnings season is about to pick up, with almost one- fifth of S&P 500 companies reporting this week. Coca-Cola Co. and Netflix Inc. are among the other companies due to report in the coming days.
“It’s going to take some time for us to come back and there’s no guarantee we’ll come back without a resurgence,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which is managing $1.8 billion. Governments and policy makers are continuing attempts to limit the economic damage of the pandemic. U.S. lawmakers are moving closer to a deal to top up funds for small businesses, China pledged more stimulus as banks lowered borrowing costs and European officials are discussing creating a bad bank for the region, according to the Financial Times.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index fell 1.8% to 2,822.89 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 2.5% to 23,646.60, the biggest dip in almost three weeks.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 1% to 8,560.73.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 1.2% to 474.74.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4% to 1,254.60.
*The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 107.79 per dollar.
*The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.0856.
*The British pound decreased 0.5% to $1.2432, the weakest in more than a week.
Bonds
*The yield on two-year Treasuries dipped less than one basis point to 0.20%.
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 0.62%, the lowest in more than two weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.337%.
*Germany’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to -0.45%, the biggest climb in almost two weeks.
Commodities
*Gold strengthened 0.8% to $1,696.35 an ounce, the largest rise in a week.
*West Texas Intermediate crude fell 275.9% to $-32.14 a barrel, reaching the lowest on record with its seventh consecutive decline and the biggest fall on record.
–With assistance from Sam Potter.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
                                                               -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com