April 15, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.  Go to article »
1955~First McDonalds opens.
April 15, 2019~Paris cathedral Notre Dame catches fire, toppling its spire and destroying its roof.
Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance man, b. 1452.
Henry James, writer, b. 1842.

ART HISTORY: Learn about how Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law, opened the world’s eyes to the painter’s genius.

Spring’s Avian Extravaganza:  We asked bird enthusiasts from five regions to give us a rundown on what to look for.  In New York State, between 90 and 100 species of songbirds pass through in May, and up to a quarter are warblers, like the mourning warbler, above, in the Adirondacks. Their distinctive songs and colorful plumage make them the stars of the spring migration. –The NY Times.

From The Late Night Hosts:
“The war in Afghanistan has been going on for almost 20 years. To put that another way, this war is too old to date Matt Gaetz.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“During his remarks, Biden announced that withdrawal would begin on May 1. When the troops get home, they’re gonna be like, ‘Why are all the bars closed?’” — JIMMY FALLON

“Twenty years is a long time. Those are 17th-century European numbers. That’s the kind of war you fight because the Spanish contessa rejected your proposal to unite the kingdoms and eloped with the Duke of Saxony.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A couple walks along the beach at North Berwick, East Lothian at sunrise
CREDIT: JANE BARLOW/PA

People visit the exhibition ‘Klimt: the immersive experience’ held at Digital Arts IDEAL in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CREDIT: ALEJANDRO GARCIA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

A ring-tailed lemur watches out of a door on a cold but sunny day at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany
CREDIT: MARTIN MEISSNER/AP

Market Closes for April 15^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1926, Charles A. Lindbergh made one of the earliest commercial air flights, zipping between Chicago and St. Louis in a deHaviland DH-4 biplane to deliver a sack of mail for Robertson Aircraft, under contract from the U.S. Post Office. Robertson later grew into American Airlines.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks climbed to a new high on Thursday after mining and tech companies outperformed.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.8% in Toronto. Miners were the best performers as most metals rallied, while health
care stocks performed the worst as pot stocks declined.
Meanwhile, the Canadian housing market hit a record. More properties changed hands in March than any month in history as
sky-high prices lured more homeowners to try to cash in.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $11.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.6% to $1,764.92 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar was flat at C$1.2532 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell about 7 basis points to 1.459%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.8 percent at 19,321.92 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.5 percent on April 1 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent. Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 165 of 229 shares rose, while 60 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.4 percent. Martinrea International Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.4 percent.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5 percent
* The index advanced 38 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.1 percent below its 52-week high on April 15, 2021 and 39.3 percent above its low on April 16, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 1.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.7 on a trailing basis and 17.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.99t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.72 percent compared with 9.36 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.11 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | 74.0424| 3.1| 46/6
* Information Technology | 33.2937| 1.7| 7/4
* Financials | 14.6615| 0.2| 16/10
* Industrials | 8.9258| 0.4| 22/7
* Consumer Discretionary | 6.8817| 0.9| 10/3
* Real Estate | 6.6695| 1.1| 25/1
* Communication Services | 4.2545| 0.5| 5/2
* Energy | 3.3125| 0.1| 12/11
* Consumer Staples | 2.9253| 0.4| 8/5
* Utilities | -1.8769| -0.2| 10/6
* Health Care | -2.8275| -1.1| 4/5

US
By Claire Ballentine and Katie Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks jumped to record highs with retail sales and weekly jobless claims data signaling an accelerating recovery in the world’s biggest economy. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes dropped the most since February. The S&P 500 advanced to an all-time high, led by the health care and technology sectors. Financial shares declined with yields falling, even after Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. posted better-than-forecast trading revenue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 indexes also reached all-time peaks. “The consumer is ready to go out and spend, after nearly a year of lockdowns from Covid-19,” said Vanessa Martinez, managing director and partner at The Lerner Group, a Chicago-based wealth management firm. “There is plenty of pent-up demand in the economy.” The ruble slid as the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on some Russian debt, individuals and entities in retaliation for alleged misconduct related to the SolarWinds hack and the U.S. election. Traders suggested international concerns may have helped fuel the rally in Treasuries, with many investors caught positioned for higher yields. “This continues to be one of the more confusing dynamics in markets at least right now,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for the U.S. SPDR exchange-traded fund business at State Street Global Advisors. “I think part of it is that you saw the 10-year make a very rapid move over a very short period of time, so this could be a pause before it starts to move higher again.”
Expectations of a strong economic recovery, combined with optimism over monetary and fiscal stimulus, have pushed equities to record levels this week as company reporting continues.   Still, investors are closely monitoring developments on the vaccine rollout, while also keeping an eye on the threat from rising inflation. “We are probably entering the last stage of the pricing of the growth acceleration, and we see encouraging signs suggesting the ‘reflationary’ environment can continue and be supportive for risky assets in the near term,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by Alessio Rizzi wrote in a note. “Across assets we continue to prefer equity over credit, and favor a pro-cyclical stance within equity.” Elsewhere, Bitcoin gained and Coinbase Global Inc. climbed following news that three funds at Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management bought shares. Oil fluctuated after Wednesday’s surge. In Asia, the Chinese central bank’s liquidity operations signaled it’s seeking to contain rising leverage, prompting declines in the nation’s equities and in Hong Kong shares.
Some key events to watch this week:
* China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 1% to a record high as of 3:04 p.m. New York time
* The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 1.2%, more than any closing gain since April 5
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% to a record high
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.9% to a record high
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%, falling for the fourth straight day, the longest losing streak since April 6
* The euro was unchanged at $1.20
* The British pound climbed 0.1%, rising for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 24
* The Japanese yen climbed 0.3%, rising for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 22
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 10 basis points, more than any closing loss since Feb. 26
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined 3.2 basis points, more than any closing loss since April 1
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 6.7 basis points, more than any closing loss since March 2
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3%, climbing for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since Feb. 25
* Gold futures rose 1.8%, the most since March 8
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Sincerity is the single virtue that binds the divine and man in one. -Shinto teaching.

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