June 25, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Archaeologists find a ring of pits around Stonehenge that may mark an ancient structure. -Bloomberg.

A Renaissance painting reveals how much breeding has changed watermelons. -Bloomberg.

Perceptions of musical octaves are learned, not hard-wired. -Bloomberg.

In book news, a previously unpublished piece by Louisa May Alcott is now available in print for the first time. She wrote “Aunt Nellie’s Diary” when she was just 17,
long before she published “Little Women.” –The NY Times.

Here are 16 new books to watch for in July. -The New York Times.

1951 – The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A young man jumps over the fire as people take part in a traditional mid-summer solstice night celebration (Rasos Festival) at the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumsiskes, east of Kaunas, Lithuania.
CREDIT: PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A bee approached in flight a coneflower that is already occupied by a bumble-bee, in Tineretului park, in Bucharest, Romania.
CREDIT: ROBERT GHEMENT/EPA

Children play under water jets as they cool off in the fountains during a heatwave in the French riviera city of Nice.
CREDIT: VALERY HACHE/AFP

Market Closes for June 25^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1974, Texas Instruments and three of its key engineers, Jack S. Kilby, Jerry D. Merryman and James H. VanTassel, received U.S. Patent No. 3,819,921 for their hand-held aluminum calculator. The gizmo was 1 ¾” thick and weighed 2 lbs., 13 oz. It could add, subtract, multiply and divide, and would sell for between $84.95 and $119.95.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities reversed their early drop Thursday despite a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained about 0.5%, with information technology leading Toronto’s market higher. Shopify Inc. rose over 2%. Markets got “ahead of themselves,” David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds said on BNN Bloomberg. “This notion of a second wave on covid-19 presupposes” that the first wave was already dealt with, he added. Oil extended declines after swelling U.S. crude stockpiles and a surge in coronavirus cases across the nation raised concerns about demand in the world’s largest economy. The Canadian government is considering a shift to longer- term borrowing to finance its ballooning budget deficit, a strategy that has the potential to complicate matters for companies raising money in the country’s bond markets.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.2 to $1,764 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.1% to $1.3653 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 2 basis points to 0.526%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1 percent at 15,446.14 in Toronto. The move was the biggest gain since June 16 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 1.7 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.5 percent. Real Matters Inc. had the largest increase, rising 4.3 percent. Today, 147 of 222 shares rose, while 72 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* This quarter, the index rose 15 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 1.7 percent
* The index declined 5.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.8 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 14 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 38.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 2.5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.4 on a trailing basis and 24.8 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$2.33t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 19.40 percent compared with 19.26 percent in the previous session and the average of 21.28 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 45.3653| 1.0| 20/5
Information Technology | 33.9943| 2.2| 8/2
Industrials | 25.7606| 1.5| 16/12
Materials | 16.3118| 0.7| 38/11
Energy | 12.3535| 0.6| 13/10
Consumer Staples | 6.3752| 1.0| 9/2
Communication Services | 5.4642| 0.6| 7/1
Utilities | 3.8855| 0.5| 8/8
Real Estate | 2.1334| 0.4| 19/8
Health Care | 0.6636| 0.4| 3/6
Consumer Discretionary | -0.5559| -0.1| 6/7
US
By Claire Ballentine and Amena Saad
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed the most in more than a week as investors weighed the prospects for additional stimulus against the spike in American virus cases. Crude oil snapped a two-day slide and the dollar strengthened. The S&P 500 jumped in the last hour of trading after fluctuating for most of the session to finish up 1.1%. The index is clinging to a monthly gain after one of the highest-ever increases in U.S. cases prompted Texas and Florida to halt the next phases of the reopening of their economies. Banks surging 2.7% after regulators eased rules that will free up capital. Investors also grappled with a mixed batch of economic data,  after initial jobless claims topped estimates at almost 1.5 million. “The market is trying to digest what the timeline is, and also measuring monetary stimulus and future fiscal stimulus as well,” said Chad Morganlander, senior money manager at Washington Crossing Advisors. “There are a lot of unknowns but yet, we have to believe that the monetary backdrop as well as fiscal backdrop will support the market, so we’re a little bit more optimistic over the next 18-24 months.”
In Europe, stocks swung from a loss to close higher, with Deutsche Lufthansa AG rallying as its biggest shareholder backed a government rescue package. Shares in German fintech Wirecard AG collapsed after it filed for insolvency. Core European bonds gained. Worries over lockdowns being reimposed and economies re- opening more slowly has hurt sentiment, as investors weigh reports of new daily records for infections. Meanwhile, health leaders called on the U.K. to prepare for a possible second wave, and Australia recorded its largest spike in cases since  April. “The market really got the shivers over the prospect of a big increase in Covid and maybe starting to see places that were opening up have to close up,” Margie Patel, portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “We’ve had
such a great run from the end of March it’s only inevitable that we should get at least a little step back.”
Elsewhere, stocks in Asia fell the most in almost two weeks. China and Hong Kong were shut for holidays. West Texas crude oil rose, while gold reversed an earlier gain.
Here are some key events coming up:
* A rebalance of Russell indexes is due on Friday.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index advanced 1.1% to 3,083.76 as of 4:04 p.m. New York time, the largest gain in more than a week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.2% to 25,745.60, the biggest gain in more than a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.1% to 10,017.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.1% to 1,218.48.
The euro decreased 0.2% to $1.1226.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 107.12 per dollar, the weakest in more than a week.
Bonds
The yield on two-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 0.18%, the lowest in two weeks.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.68%.
Britain’s 10-year yield decreased four basis points to 0.154%, the lowest on record.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 2.7% to $39.05 a barrel, the biggest gain in more than a week.
Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,763.65 an ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh and Katherine Greifeld.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Character makes life immortal; character is power…Qualities that make
up a flawless character are love, patience, forbearance, steadfastness
and charity.  These are the highest qualities and have to be respected.
                                                                 -Sai Baba, 1838?-1918.

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