April 13, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
It’s the start of Ramadan. This holy month is a time of fasting, prayer and community for Muslims across the world.

Thomas Jefferson, 3^rd U.S. President, b. 1743.
Butch Cassidy, outlaw, b. 1866.
Al Green, singer, b. 1946.
April 13, 1962 ~ Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson.
On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)  Go to article »

After Anthony Bourdain’s death, his long time assistant was left to finish his last book, “World Travel: An Irreverent Guide.” It comes out next week, and it’s “an enduring embodiment of Anthony Bourdain’s love for the whole world,” our Travel writer says.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Milky Way glows brightly in the sky behind the distinctive red stripe of the lighthouse at Portland Bill on the Dorset Jurassic Coast
CREDIT: GRAHAM HUNT/ALAMY LINE NEWS

A man checks vine buds during the burning of anti-frost candles in the Luneau-Papin wine vineyard in Le Landreau, near Nantes, western France as temperatures fall below freezing 
CREDIT: SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A traffic light for camels is seen at the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring scenic spot in Dunhuang, China
CREDIT: ZHANG XIAOLIANG/VCG VIA GETTY IMAGES

Prince George sitting in a horse carriage next to the Duke of Edinburgh at Anmer Hall in Norfolk
CREDIT: THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE/KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Market Closes for April 13^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1945, as the market absorbed the news of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death the day before, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 1% to close at 159.75.
Fun Fact: The Dow closed at 33677.27 today – a +20,981.2% increase since 1945. 
Canada

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 19,203.70 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.1 percent. AcuityAds Holdings Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.4 percent. Today, 119 of 229 shares rose, while 110 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 36 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 53 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on April 13, 2021 and 38.4 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 28.5 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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 fell to 9.55 percent compared with 9.66 percent in the previous session and the average of 11.31 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | 34.6119| 1.8| 6/5
* Materials | 18.8204| 0.8| 41/11
* Consumer Discretionary | 6.3545| 0.8| 5/8
* Utilities | 5.2467| 0.6| 13/3
* Real Estate | 5.1373| 0.9| 20/6
* Health Care | 3.2165| 1.3| 9/1
* Communication Services | 1.8119| 0.2| 6/2
* Consumer Staples | -3.6131| -0.5| 4/9
* Energy | -12.6505| -0.5| 3/20
* Industrials | -14.7070| -0.6| 5/25
* Financials | -41.7999| -0.7| 7/20

US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed to record highs and bond yields fell as investors bet that a higher-than-forecast rise in inflation won’t be enough to slow economic stimulus measures. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high even after the U.S. recommended pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccines amid health concerns. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 also set a record while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished in the red. Consumer prices rose more than expected last month but investors speculated the acceleration was not fast enough to warrant any Federal Reserve policy change. The drop in yields weighed on bank shares. “The market has been skittish about rates for some time,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “While this may cause some short-term volatility, investors have been pretty steadfast in their faith in a full economic recovery.”
J&J shares fell as officials agreed to the pause and started an investigation into a link from its shot to rare and severe blood clots, while rivals Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. advanced. The U.S. anticipates having enough other vaccines during the period. Fund managers across the world now see inflation, a taper tantrum and higher taxes as bigger risks than Covid-19, according to the latest Bank of America Corp. survey. “A lot of growth and inflation have already been priced into the market,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “It’s almost as if you need to exceed those expectations in order to see a more pronounced reaction from markets.” Although policymakers at the Federal Reserve expect a bump in consumer prices to be short-lived, many traders disagree, with fears of faster CPI playing out across duration-heavy assets from bonds to tech stocks.Treasuries extended gains after the government’s auction of 30-year bonds was greeted with strong demand. Meanwhile, Bitcoin jumped to an all-time high as the mood in cryptocurrencies turned bullish before Coinbase Global Inc. goes public. Oil traded near $60 a barrel.

Some key events to watch this week:
* Banks and financial firms begin reporting first-quarter earnings, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
* Economic Club of Washington hosts Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a moderated Q&A on Wednesday.
* U.S. Federal Reserve releases Beige Book on Wednesday.
* U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.
* 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 increased 0.5% to 4,141.67 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the highest on record.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 33,678.78.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 1.2% to 13,986.50, the highest on record with the largest gain in a week.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.1% to 13,996.10, the highest in almost eight weeks on the biggest gain in a week.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.1% to 435.75.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2% to 1,139.10, the lowest in three weeks.
* The euro gained 0.3% to $1.1952, the strongest in almost four weeks.
* The British pound advanced 0.1% to $1.3753.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 109.06 per dollar, the strongest in almost three weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.16%.
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank four basis points to 1.62%.
* The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.30%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to -0.29%, the highest in almost two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.779%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.1% to $60.40 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
–With assistance from Kamaron Leach.
Have  a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

If you live your life fully, you will die only once.  But if you are scared of every step, fear will kill you day after day. -Paulo Coelho, b. 1947.

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