July 20, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Moon Day.
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Go to article »

You can catch Comet NEOWISE — one of the brightest comets in a generation — without a telescope. Here’s how. –The NY Times.

Stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to see the comet NEOWISE in the sky this month. Take advantage now, because once it disappears from view it won’t be
visible here for another 6,800 years. -CNN.

Japanese company makes masks that can translate and transcribe speech. (h/t Uffe Galsgaard), Bloomberg.

Six ways to think about the long term. –Bloomberg. 

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Milky Way galaxy is seen in the sky above the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada.
CREDIT: DAVID BECKER/AFP

Colourful wildflowers next to Whitburn Windmill near Sunderland.
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA WIRE

An eagle shows it would be a dab hand as a contortionist as it bends it’s head backwards to see what is happening behind it. The incredible moment was captured along the banks of the Chobe River in Botswana.
CREDIT: NEAL COOPER/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Derbyshire landscape at sunrise. Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith area, UK.
CREDIT: JOHN FINNEY/WENN

Market Closes for July 20th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1969, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins landed their Eagle lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility on the surface of the moon. The world watched dumbstruck as the historic event was broadcast live, but Wall Street yawned, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4% the following trading day.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose to their highest level since March 5 as information technology and materials stocks outperformed. Investors also assessed encouraging news on a potential virus vaccine. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.4%. Shopify Inc. rose 8.5%, leading tech shares higher. Nine of eleven sectors still lagged. Silver futures latched on to gold’s rally, climbing above $20 an ounce to the highest since 2016 on rising haven demand and concerns about supply of the white metal. Meanwhile, one analyst sees Loblaw Cos. suffering a quarterly hit to profits as second-quarter results are due later this week.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,814.50 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3538 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 1.5 basis points to 0.511%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.4 percent, or 60.18 to 16,183.66 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 5. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 2 of 11 sectors gained; 92 of 221 shares rose, while 126 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 8.5 percent. SilverCrest Metals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.2 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.3 percent
* The index declined 1.8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8.6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.3 on a trailing basis and 25 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.45t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 19.07 percent compared with 19.16 percent in the previous session and the average of 19.76 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 90.6287| 5.7| 9/1
Materials | 47.9169| 2.0| 40/10
Real Estate | -0.7612| -0.2| 9/17
Health Care | -1.7540| -1.0| 3/6
Industrials | -2.2744| -0.1| 13/15
Consumer Staples | -2.7601| -0.4| 1/10
Utilities | -5.0492| -0.6| 5/11
Consumer Discretionary | -6.0416| -1.1| 2/11
Communication Services | -14.5234| -1.7| 0/7
Financials | -21.0653| -0.5| 8/16
Energy | -24.1332| -1.2| 2/22
US
By Anchalee Worrachate and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced to the highest since February, with the stay-at-home trade thriving even as investors received encouraging news on a potential virus vaccine. The dollar weakened to an almost six-week low. The S&P 500 turned positive for the year as its rally took it to levels last seen just as the pandemic was starting. The Nasdaq 100 jumped the most since April, hitting a record high, after Amazon.com and Zoom Technologies soared on demand for companies that benefit from diminished economic activity. AstraZeneca jumped to a record after results from a vaccine trial were published, but the rally faded after analysts said the data, while good, weren’t as stellar as hoped for. A slew of earnings are due this week, including from Microsoft, Intel, Tesla and Twitter. Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are starting to hammer out a rescue package to replace some of the expiring benefits earlier versions contained. Euro- area leaders appeared close to an agreement on stimulus, while the total size of the recovery package is in flux, an earlier proposal was for 750 billion euros ($858 billion).
Italy’s 10-year bond yield spread over Germany, a key gauge of risk in the euro region, fell to the lowest level since March. Oil climbed above $40 a barrel. European stocks advanced. EU Holdouts Ready to Accept 390 Billion Euros in Grants for Fund While stock markets have inched higher in recent weeks, there are still plenty of worries about the health of the global economy, especially with the virus spreading unabated in parts of the U.S. In the euro area, unemployment could hit almost 10% by the end of the year as the economy slumps, according to a Bloomberg survey. A Jobless Recovery Is Becoming a Real Risk for Europe’s Economy New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to close down all bars and restaurants if large street gatherings continue and his social distance and mask regulations aren’t enforced. Hong Kong added a record 108 infections, will require civil servants to work from home and plans to mandate wearing of masks in all shared indoor areas. ”The economic dislocation of Covid-19 triggered a tremendous response by fiscal and monetary policy makers as well as central banks,” said Gene Tannuzzo, a portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle. “These measures helped to stabilize markets, yet we still find ourselves in an environment of continuous low growth.”
Here are some key events coming up:
* Quarterly earnings gather steam, including Blackstone Group, Microsoft, Roche, Intel, Unilever, Canadian Pacific, UBS, Tokyo Steel, Daimler, Hyundai and Mattel.
* The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
* U.S. weekly jobless claims come on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.8% to 3,251.84 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest in five months.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.5% to 10,767.09, the highest on record with the biggest climb in almost 12 weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 26,680.93.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.8% to 375.51, the highest in more than 19 weeks.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.2% to 1,202.49, the lowest in almost six weeks.
The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1445, the strongest in 19 weeks.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.3% to 107.32 per dollar, the weakest in almost two weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.61%, the lowest in more than 11 weeks on the biggest fall in a week.
Germany’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to -0.46%.
Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.151%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.2% to $40.68 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,818.48 an ounce, the highest in about nine years.
Copper advanced 0.6% to $2.92 a pound, the largest gain in a week.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.
                                  -Michel de Montaigne, 1533-1592

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