September 4, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Labor Day Weekend Friday!

Vast size of prehistoric megalodon shark, which had a fin as long as a human, revealed for the first time.  Well, we’re very happy this fellow is extinct. –CNN

Airbnb’s CEO says people are booking months long stays during the pandemic.  People really, REALLY want to get away from it all. –CNN

Why the French love to complain, according to the BBC.

Wanna see a baby encountering her first waterfall? Of course you do. –Bloomberg.

1781 – City of Los Angeles founded.
1888 – George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.  Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Anissa Barbato from New York looks out over the city from the Edge, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere on September 2, 2020 as it reopened to the public in New York.
CREDIT: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Starlings near the beach at Crosby, Sefton in Merseyside.
CREDIT: PETER BYRNE/PA

A hover fly visits a cosmos flower.
CREDIT: CHRISTOPHER COX

Gardner Stuart Barlow begins to trim back the copper and green beech which make up the Murray Star Maze at Scone Palace near Perth, Scotland.
CREDIT: DUNCAN MCGLYNN

Market Closes for September 4th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1882, Thomas Alva Edison opened the first central generating system Pearl Street Station, making electric lighting and power possible in New York City — and the world. At 3 p.m., he flipped a switch at 23 Wall Street, turning on 106 electric lamps in the offices of his financial backer, J.P. Morgan’s investment bank Drexel, Morgan & Co.
Canada
By Divya Balji
(Bloomberg) — A sell-off of technology shares in the U.S. is reverberating in Canada, even though the sector makes up only a 10th of the nation’s stock market. The small contribution of tech stocks to Canada’s market helped the S&P/TSX Composite Index outperform its U.S. counterpart Thursday: Canada was down 1.5%, while the S&P 500 Index plunged 3.5%. But as the rout continued for a second day, the TSX became collateral damage. The equity market fell for a second session on Friday as traders honed in on lofty valuations of tech stocks, brushing past solid jobs data from both the U.S. and Canada. The Canadian benchmark ended the week 2.9% lower, its biggest slump since June 12, while the S&P 500 fell 2.3%.
A drop in the price of oil and gold also weighed on the nation’s stock market, with mining and energy stocks making up about 26% of the index. With markets closed Monday for Labor Day, investors have a shortened week packed with central bank rate decisions and economic data releases. Commodities investors will be watching the European Central Bank’s rate decision due Sept. 10 as top central banks debate how best to execute monetary policy. Closer to home, the Bank of Canada will release its policy statement on Sept. 9 and Governor Tiff Macklem will give an economic progress report the next day.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 1.4 percent, or 230.88 to 16,218.01 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 31. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.5 percent. Kinaxis Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.6 percent. Today, 181 of 221 shares fell, while 37 rose; all sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 2.9 percent, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended June 12
* This quarter, the index rose 4.5 percent
* This year, the index fell 5 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 1.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.8 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.8 on a trailing basis and 23.7 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$2.5t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.89 percent compared with 11.02 percent in the previous session and the average of 10.89 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -64.4108| -3.9| 0/10
Financials | -34.7946| -0.7| 6/19
Materials | -33.3875| -1.3| 12/37
Energy | -32.5211| -1.6| 3/20
Industrials | -18.2635| -0.9| 7/20
Consumer Staples | -12.2654| -1.8| 0/11
Communication Services | -10.6873| -1.2| 0/8
Utilities | -9.7076| -1.2| 0/16
Consumer Discretionary | -9.3613| -1.6| 1/12
Real Estate | -4.3600| -0.9| 5/22
Health Care | -1.1224| -0.7| 3/6
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks bounced back from a sharp selloff but still closed at a two-week low as mega cap tech shares sold off. Losses for Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 down more than 5% at one point, though it pared those declines to just over 1% as the day wore on and investors spotted bargains. Gains in financial shares limited losses in the S&P 500 Index, which ended the week down 2.3% at the lowest level since Aug. 21.
Treasury yields jumped while the dollar slipped. Oil fell below $40 a barrel to reach the lowest since late June. The worst of Friday’s stock selloff appeared to stem from concern that the recent run-up in tech shares wasn’t tied to broad investor sentiment, but instead was driven by outsize options trades from one firm. The Financial Times reported that SoftBank bought billions of dollars in tech derivatives before the rout that began Thursday.
Traders are seeking to find an appropriate valuation for tech stocks and gauge the health of the U.S. economy as the coronavirus pandemic rages on after having killed more than 180,000 Americans. While the industry is generating blockbuster profits during the stay-at-home lockdowns, there’s also evidence that high-flying names have become overheated. “It’s those crowded names that were over-owned that are being sold again,” said Dan Russo, chief market strategist at Chaikin Analytics. “It’s the lofty valuations, the stocks just were stretched.”
Elsewhere, emerging-market stocks fell for a third day. European shares slumped. Asian shares dropped, with Australia’s benchmark recording the biggest decline since May.
Here are the latest market moves:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index fell 0.8% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 1.3%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
* The euro was little changed at $1.1847.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 106.21 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased eight basis points to 0.71%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.48%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 0.26%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.5% to $39.51 a barrel.
* Gold rose 0.2% to $1,935.23 an ounce.
* Silver rose 1.3% to $26.93 per ounce.
–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Todd White, David Wilson, Robert Brand and Sophie Caronello.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

I can believe anything provided it is incredible.
                           -Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900

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