April 28, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1789-The crew on the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific.  Go to article »
1945-Mussolini executed.

Jay Leno, comedian, b. 1950.
Alice Waters, restauranteur, b. 1944.
Penelope Cruz, actor, b. 1974.

Crocs sales surge, and Questlove even wore a gold pair to the Oscars.  Lo, the age of the Formal Croc is upon us! 

Beavers chewed through a cable and knocked out internet service to hundreds in a Canadian town.  “Nice fiber optic cables ya got there. Would be a shame if they were crudely gnawed by an animal with no appreciation for high-speed internet.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The full moon, known as the “Super Pink Moon” rises behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
CREDIT:CHRISTIAN HARTMAN/REUTERS

Abu Dhabi in Dubai is covered with with rolling fog, photo taken from the Al Ain Tower
CREDIT:ZOHAID ANJUM / SWNS.COM

The sun rises over Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday morning
CREDIT: ANDREW SHARPE/BAV MEDIA

A  20-foot-long great white shark, weighing about four thousand pounds,  breaches and bares its impressive teeth for a group of tourists in Gansbaai, South Africa
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMMIMAGES/DAVE CARAVIAS

Market Closes for April 28^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1942, the World War II bear market hit bottom, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 92.92, down 0.97 points for the day and 16.3% for the year to date. Over the next four years, the market more than doubled.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares climbed to a record on Wednesday after e-commerce giant Shopify rallied on a first quarter earnings beat. The S&P/TSX Composite index rose about 1% in Toronto. The tech sector was the best performing, led by Shopify shares, while health care was the second best. On the M&A front, Bausch Health is exploring a potential sale of its eye-care business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at about a $12.20 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,781.29 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.7% to C$1.2312 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield fell to 1.533%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.9 percent, or 181.86 to 19,356.95 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.5 percent on April 1. Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 5 of 11 sectors gained; 127 of 229 shares rose, while 94 fell. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 11.1 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 3.5 percent
* The index advanced 31 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 49 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.2 percent below its 52-week high on April 28, 2021 and 36.4 percent above its low on May 14, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1 percent in the past 5 days and rose 3.2 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.4 on a trailing basis and 17.3 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$3t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.70 percent compared with 8.42 percent in the previous session and the average of 9.84 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 127.8353| 6.9| 6/5
* Energy | 37.1523| 1.6| 21/2
* Financials | 11.1116| 0.2| 16/10
* Materials | 9.4974| 0.4| 37/12
* Health Care | 9.4931| 3.7| 8/2
* Communication Services | -0.3535| 0.0| 2/5
* Real Estate | -1.3444| -0.2| 14/11
* Industrials | -1.7918| -0.1| 11/18
* Consumer Staples | -2.4517| -0.4| 4/9
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.1969| -0.4| 4/8
* Utilities | -4.0891| -0.4| 4/12

US
By Richard Richtmyer and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, while Treasuries rose after the Federal Reserve maintained its support for the economy. Policy makers strengthened their view of the economy and said that recent increases in inflation looked “transitory,” reassuring investors that the central bank is in no hurry to tap the brakes on growth. The dollar was lower, the 10-year Treasury rate was at 1.61% and gold was little changed. “No news is good news as far as the market is concerned because it means the Fed will remain accommodative for the near future,” said Ellen Hazen, portfolio manager and principal at F.L.Putnam Wealth Management. “This is a Goldilocks Fed. It is exactly what the equity markets are looking for.” The Fed decision came as investors parsed the latest batch of corporate earnings reports. Alphabet Inc. rose to a record after its results showed a surge in ad sales. Microsoft Corp. was among the biggest drags, dropping to a three-week low after the software maker failed to deliver the blockbuster results some analysts were looking for. All of the main U.S. equity gauges closed lower. Facebook Inc. rallied 5% postmarket, adding to gains from the cash session after earnings and sales topped estimates. Ford Motor Co. extended declines after giving a disappointing forecast for the year.
Among other earnings-related news:
* Boeing Co. dropped after it burned through more cash than expected in the first quarter.
* Texas Instruments Inc. fell the most in two months after it gave a sales forecast that some analysts saw as weak.

With stock valuations about 25% above their five-year average, investors have been searching for new catalysts to sustain the bull market momentum. A string of encouraging data and rapid vaccination progress have boosted optimism about growth prospects in the developed world, reviving the so-called reflation trade in recent days. A release Thursday may show the U.S. gross domestic product increased an annualized 6.8% in the first quarter. Crude-oil futures rose after OPEC+ expressed confidence in the demand outlook with plans to boost supply, even India’s raging Covid-19 crisis is causing near-term pressure.

Here are some key events to watch this week:
* President Joe Biden makes his first address as president to a joint session of Congress Wednesday
* U.S. GDP Thursday is forecast to show growth strengthened in the first quarter

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.2129
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3947
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 108.59 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.61%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to -0.23%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.80%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $64 a barrel
* Gold futures were little changed

–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Emily Barrett, Srinivasan Sivabalan and Claire Ballentine.
Have a  great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

The more I see the less I know for sure. –John W Lennon, 1940-1980.

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