June 17, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1972- Watergate Arrests, Washington DC.
1882-Igor Stravinsky, composer, b.
1898-M.C. Escher, artist, b.

Dark matter experiment finds an unexplained signal that could be either noise or revolutionize physics. -Bloomberg.

Galaxies may have grown from quantum static. -Bloomberg.

Five women who deserve to have Army bases named after them. -Bloomberg.

You can own one of those dystopian Boston Dynamics robot dogs for a mere $74,500
It will be the beginning of a (headless, soulless) lifelong friendship –CNN.

Here are the first pictures of Tom Brady in a Buccaneers jersey 
Patriots fans, look away. This is not the article for you. –CNN.

On June 17, 1994, the police charged O. J. Simpson with murdering his former wife and a friend of hers, and then pursued him for about 50 miles along Southern California highways before he finally surrendered outside his home.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE  DAY

Annabel Spink and her daughter Allegra Cook watch Ascot from home in their garden; they usually go every year but due to Covid-19 are unable to go this year.
CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Passengers sit in a ferris wheel as a rainbow appears during sunset after a rain shower in Hong Kong.
CREDIT: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Food shoppers gather at an early morning fish market on a Southern Asia beach. The populated food outlet is seen from drone images directly above the crowd. Fisherman bring their catches, including shrimp, squid, crab, mackerel, tuna and anchovies onto the shallow water and sell directly to businesses and households in Tam Tien, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.
CREDIT: NGUYEN SANH QUOC HUY/TRIANGLE NEWS

Market Closes for June 17th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets fell, halting a three-day rally, led by energy and health care stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.6% in Toronto. Energy
suffered as oil prices fell on supply glut. Tech was the best performing sector, with Shopify Inc. contributing the greatest number of index points. Ovintiv Inc., the oil and gas producer that moved its headquarters out of Canada earlier this year, is laying off staff across North America as it reduces drilling activity. Canada’s largest oil-producing province will study whether to create an independent Alberta Pension Plan and let residents vote on the idea in a referendum, Premier Jason Kenney said at a press conference.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $9.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,728.42 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was fell 0.2% to C$1.3570 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell to 0.534%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6 percent at 15,428.69 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1 percent. Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.5 percent. Hexo Corp. had the largest drop, falling 11.9 percent. Today, 153 of 229 shares fell, while 72 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 15 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* The index declined 5.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 14.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 38.1 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.4 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.3 on a trailing basis and 25.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.35t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 20.99 percent compared with 20.88 percent in the previous session and the average of 22.50 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -51.3995| -2.5| 1/28
Financials | -30.2593| -0.7| 6/19
Communication Services | -9.7555| -1.1| 2/6
Real Estate | -5.7077| -1.2| 5/21
Consumer Discretionary | -3.9692| -0.7| 4/9
Health Care | -2.1276| -1.3| 2/8
Consumer Staples | -1.4285| -0.2| 5/6
Utilities | -1.0803| -0.1| 6/10
Industrials | 4.3597| 0.2| 10/20
Materials | 5.1055| 0.2| 27/20
Information Technology | 9.1155| 0.6| 4/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell for the first time in four days as worrying increases in coronavirus cases overtook optimism about stimulus measures. Treasury note yields fell and the dollar was little changed. The benchmark S&P 500 Index swung between gains and losses for most of Wednesday before turning red late, with the energy, real estate and financial sectors leading the declines. Apple and Microsoft helped the Nasdaq Composite close positive. Infections increased from China to Brazil and Iran warned it may need a new lockdown. Texas reported a surge in hospitalizations. “The market is searching for a new catalyst,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “The narrative around policy stimulus and better economic data seems to be losing its sway.” While volume was 20% below the 30-day average Wednesday, trading has been volatile for the past two weeks. After rising to a 12-week high on June 8, the S&P 500 tumbled 7% over three days before staging a 4% rebound in the next three sessions. “Volatility is for sure here to stay and probably through the end of the year,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede Trust. “We’re dealing with something that is not economic in nature, anyone who thinks they can predict the path of this virus is surely kidding themselves.”
The thin volume exacerbated swings, including a drop that began around the time newspapers published summaries of John Bolton’s critical book about President Donald Trump. Investor optimism toward risk assets had been reflected in bets that new virus outbreaks won’t lead governments to pull back from gradually reopening businesses. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell urged Congress not to pull back too quickly on federal relief to households and small businesses put in place because of the pandemic. “Global markets could remain stretched between a health situation likely to remain a threat in several regions for some time on the one hand, and a stream of positive macro figures confirming that we have passed the low point on the other,” said Xavier Chapard, a global macro strategist at Credit Agricole. Texas reported an 11% surge in virus hospitalizations, the biggest 24-hour increase since June 4. Brazil registered a record 34,918 new infections, while China is escalating containment measures in Beijing including canceling flights. Elsewhere, crude oil futures declined, after two sessions of advances.
These are some key events coming up:
* Policy decisions from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are due on Thursday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.4% to 3,113.47 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.6% to 26,119.61.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1% to 9,910.53, the highest in a week.
The MSCI All-Country World Index was little changed at 528.36, the highest in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,214.15.
The euro decreased 0.3% to $1.1235, the weakest in two weeks.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 107.05 per dollar, the largest advance in a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 0.73%.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to -0.39%, the highest in a week on the largest rise in more than a week.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.8% to $37.67 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 0.1% to $1,728.38 an ounce.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Paradoxically, the man who has failed and one who is at the peak
of his success are in the same position. 
Each must decide what to do next.  -Jigoro Kano, 1860-1938

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