Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Friday.
April 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs Invasion begins, a failed operation that hardens Cold War conflict in the Western Hemisphere.
About 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. Go to article.
1991: Dow tops 3000 for the first time ever.
April 17, 1932: Haile Selassie ends slavery in Ethiopia.
J.P. Morgan, banker, b.1837.
Isak Dinesen, writer, b.1885.
Bike through Amsterdam, even if only in your mind. It’s tulip season!
Video: Man caught with 2,000 live ants in his luggage
A Chinese man was given a hefty fine and a 12-month jail term for trying to smuggle live ants out of Kenya.
Incredible images from the Sony World Photography Awards 2026
The competition, which is now in its 19th year, received more than 430,000 images from around the world. See some of the standouts.
| Colorado River may have pooled and spilled over to form the Grand Canyon, solving a long-standing mystery ‪— but not everyone agrees |
The Colorado River muscled its way through today’s Grand Canyon after pooling as a giant lake, according to new research. Read More.
| ‘We all screamed when it happened’: Bright-green fireball meteor caught exploding over famous Viking raid site in UK |
Photographers caught a spectacular emerald-green fireball meteor streaking above Lindisfarne in northeast England, where Viking raiders famously killed and robbed Christian monks in the eighth century. Read More.
| Hackers used AI to steal hundreds of millions of Mexican government and private citizen records in one of the largest cybersecurity breaches ever |
A group of hackers used both Claude Code and ChatGPT in a cybersecurity hack that lasted two and a half months. Read More.
| Do bay leaves actually do anything? |
Bay leaves have some pretty unexpected uses nowadays, from foot soaks to DIY skin and hair remedies, but bay leaves have been a staple in cooking for centuries and a growing debate is questioning whether they actually add any noticeable flavor. So what does science say? Watch Now
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
A tourist watches the sunset at a beach
Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images
Jiaxing, China
A staff member at the Zhejiang Tsinghua Institute of Flexible Electronics Technology trains a humanoid robot to sort goods as part of embodied intelligence training
Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images
Finding Nemos … clownfish swim among sea anemones at the Magic Mountain dive site in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Photograph: Claudia Rosel/AP
Market Closes for April 17th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
49447.43 | +868.71 |
| +1.79% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7126.06 | +84.78 |
| +1.20% | ||
| NASDAQ | 24468.48 | +365.78 |
| +1.52% | ||
| TSX | 34346.29 | +294.06 |
| +0.86% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 58475.90 | -1042.44 |
| -1.75% | ||
| HANG SENG |
26160.33 | -233.93 |
| -0.89% | ||
| SEN SEX | 78493.54 | +504.86 |
| +0.65% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10667.63 | +77.64 |
| +0.73% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.448 | 3.503 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.887 | 3.928 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.2480 | 4.3112 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8836 | 4.9326 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7303 | 0.7299 |
| US $ |
1.3691 | 1.3699 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6140 | 1.6196 |
| US $ |
0.8483 | 1.1786 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4793.60 | 4823.25 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 83.85 | 94.69 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1930, the U.S. stock market hits its post-crash high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen an astonishing 48% in the five months since the bottom on Nov. 13, 1929. Over the coming two years, however, the Dow would lose another 86% of its value.
🍒Canada🍓
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.9% at 34,346.29 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.2% on April 8 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.1%.
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 7.9%.
Today, 145 of 220 shares rose, while 71 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.9%
* The index advanced 42% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 35% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.6% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 44.2% above its low on April 21, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.5 on a trailing basis and 16.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.38t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 16.50% compared with 17.10% in the previous session and the average of 18.25% over the past month
Index
Financials | 164.7873| 1.5| 23/1
Materials | 143.9382| 2.2| 53/7
Information Technology| 63.8165| 2.5| 8/1
Industrials | 41.6293| 1.2| 23/6
Consumer Discretionary| 27.6038| 2.6| 8/1
Consumer Staples | 9.8913| 0.9| 8/1
Real Estate | 3.1803| 0.6| 12/5
Health Care | -0.2268| -0.2| 2/2
Communication Services| -1.0954| -0.2| 2/3
Utilities | -6.3208| -0.5| 1/13
Energy | -153.1217| -2.6| 5/31
Shopify | 46.1000| 3.1| -24.9| -18.8
Wheaton Precious Metals | 32.5300| 5.2| -18.4| 29.3
RBC | 30.6300| 1.3| 38.7| 4.4
Cenovus | -18.4800| -5.5| 1.1| 44.5
Suncor | -30.6600| -4.2| 8.4| 37.4
Canadian Natural Resources | -67.9300| -7.3| 2.7| 26.5
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher on Friday, rising for the eleventh time in 13 sessions on Friday with it appearing to be a case of, as BMO’s Douglas Porter put it in the headline of his weekly column, "All Quiet on the (Middle) Eastern Front?" as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
The resources-heavy S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 294.06 points, or 0.85%, to close at 34,346.29. leaving it about 200 points off its record high, even with both commodity prices and sectors largely mixed.
Not for the first time in the last week, Info Tech led gainers, up 1.85%, followed by Financials, up 1.5%, and then Industrials, up 1.2%.
Decliners were led by Energy, down 4.9% as oil prices plunged following Iran’s announcement.
According to FactSet, the TSX going in to today up 3.92% month-to-date and up 2,339.47 points, or 7.38%, since the start of the year.
It was off 1.42% from its 2026 closing high of 34,541.27 hit March 2.
Within a technical analysis on global equity markets from Rosenberg Research, author Walter Murphy said in a commentary last month he had noted that Canada’s TSX index had been probing Fibonacci resistance in the 33,851 area, the last point where the rally from last April’s low is 1.618 times the earlier 2023-2025 uptrend.
Five weeks later, the index is still probing 33,851.
However, between then and now, the index fell to as low as 31,146 before recovering, Murphy said, before adding: that sell-off represented an
almost 10% decline and carried the index to within view of 30,808 to 29,378 support.
Underneath this price action, Murphy noted the weekly Coppock Curve continued to decline from its late-February secondary peak.
"That is about to change," he said, and added: "There are indications that the oscillator has begun a bottoming process from above its neutral zero line that could continue into
mid-May. Under that scenario, the Coppock indicator would likely be in a confirmed uptrend shortly thereafter."
Murphy noted, 33,581 is "important Fibonacci resistance".
He said under normal circumstances, March’s 34,544 peak would be viewed as a decisive breakout.
However, he added, the rapid decline to 31,146 means the TSX will have to prove itself again with a rally through March’s high and that, in turn, would allow for further strength toward 35,842.
"A possible move to 38,067 is stowed away in the cupboard (not yet on the stove’s back burner)."
March’s 31,146 low is "key support", Murphy also noted, before saying "a breakdown will complete a top formation and allow for a deep test of 30,808-29,379."
However, Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, noted equities are "putting the war in the rear-view mirror".
He wrote: "The fact that the ceasefire is holding, a truce was reached in Lebanon, and reports are circulating that the U.S. may buy Iran’s uranium — a potentially elegant solution to two issues — are buoying the markets.
Even the U.S. blockade of Iran made only a fleeting mark on crude prices, with many viewing it as a short-term tactic which could hasten the end of the conflict.
Iran further fueled the rally by declaring Friday the Strait is completely open to commercial ships, as long as the ceasefire holds (including no blockade)."
Porter added: "While it’s obviously premature to declare the war over, we can now better assess the economic damage, particularly with oil prices simmering down notably.
The IMF weighed in this week with its previously scheduled semi-annual World Economic Outlook.
While the tone was downbeat, or at best cautious, what was remarkable was how little the Fund changed its global growth outlook from its January update.
Based on the main mild scenario, growth is expected to cool only slightly this year to 3.1%, from 3.4% in both its initial projection and for actual growth in 2025.
The Fund noted that last year’s growth rate ended up matching precisely the forecast at the start of 2025, as a variety of policy support measures offset the trade war impact — clearly a lesson for assessing the impact of this year’s war as well.
We shaved our forecast for global growth a bit more than the IMF to 2.9% for this year, presumably based on a somewhat higher assumption for oil prices."
Meanwhile, Porter in the same note said even with a tamer inflation outlook than, "well, just a week ago", markets are "stubbornly clinging" to the view that the Bank of Canada will hike rates later this year.
Porter noted GoC yields nudged only slightly lower this week, and the market is still priced for one full hike in 2026.
"True," he said, "that’s down from almost three hikes just a few weeks ago, but it still looks heavy to us."
Porter noted while the economy may have rebounded in February after a tough winter, GDP is up only 0.6% y/y and employment is up only 0.4% y/y, while housing remains in a deep slumber and trade uncertainty remains high as the USMCA review looms.
"Our view thus continues to be that the best policy course for the Bank is to stand still, and if anything with an easing bias," he added.
Of commodities today, West Texas Intermediate crude closed sharply lower after Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, freeing up tankers trapped in the Persian Gulf and ending a supply shock that sent prices to four-year highs.
WTI crude oil for May delivery closed down US$10.84, or 11.5%, to settle at US$83.85 per barrel, while June Brent oil was down US$9.45 to US$89.94.
Gold was higher by midafternoon Friday as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, ending the largest ever energy supply shock and easing inflation fears.
Gold for May delivery was up US$75.30 to US$4,883.60 per ounce.
US
By Cristin Flanagan
(Bloomberg) — Speculation the Iran war is poised to end sent risky assets surging anew, extending a month-long rally that’s lifted the S&P 500 Index to a succession of records, added around $12,000 to the price of Bitcoin and pushed up credit and gold.
A global risk-on surge swept across Wall Street after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for commercial traffic, erasing much of the fear that had gripped energy and equity markets through weeks of Middle East conflict.
Brent crude dipped below $90 for the first time in more than a month, and the dollar slid against every major peer — even as the contours of any US-Iran deal remained unresolved.
The Hormuz news removed the last major overhang from a market that had been grinding higher despite the war.
A fresh wave of AI enthusiasm, a stronger-than-expected earnings season and growing bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again before year-end had already powered the S&P 500 Index toward its biggest monthly advance since 2020 — even as the US campaign against Iran entered its seventh week.
With the Strait now reopening, economists said the risk of a prolonged oil shock dragging on global growth has sharply receded.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“US equities capped a remarkable week with a march to all- time highs, as markets aggressively repriced the geopolitical shock from the Middle East and leaned into a single dominant narrative: De-escalation is here.”—Brendan Fagan, Macro Strategist, Markets Live
Some on Wall Street suggested investors exercise caution and wait for a fully flushed out deal and other details to emerge.
“I would not be trading on these headlines,” Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global’s chief market strategist, told Bloomberg Television.
“Let’s see how these things progress and then next week you can start to do some shifts to put a little bit more risk in your portfolio.”
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% Friday, notching a third week of gains of more than 3%.
The Nasdaq 100 logged a 13-day winning streak, fueled by a rally in semiconductor companies riding the AI wave, the longest stretch of gains in nearly 13 years.
Oil prices fell after a social media post attributed to Iran’s foreign minister said the passage for commercial vessels through Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, was open.
A 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is also in effect.
Separately, President Donald Trump said a naval blockade will remain in full force and in effect until a deal is reached.
The president previously claimed that Iran has made key concessions in negotiations with the US.
Axios reported that one element under discussion involved the US releasing $20 billion in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran giving up its enriched uranium stockpile. Trump later posted “no money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form.”
Sarah Bianchi at Evercore ISI expects long-term risks, including the status of Iran’s nuclear program, to linger.
“The Iran crisis appears to be moving toward a tentative and fragile resolution that, even if reached, will leave many core issues unresolved even as it alleviates some near-term market overhang,” Bianchi, a former trade official, wrote.
Some Gulf Arab and European leaders said that a US-Iran peace deal could take about six months to come together.
Treasury yields dropped with the rate on the benchmark 10-year down to 4.24%.
“Now that the dust appears to be settling on events in the Middle East, market attention will once again focus back on the fundamentals, in particular earnings given that the season has just started,” said Daniel Murray, deputy chief investment officer at EFG Asset Management. “Earnings expectations are buoyant, consistent with solid underlying macro trends.”
Turning Tides
It took the S&P 500 just 11 days to lurch from an oversold reading to Thursday’s arrival in overbought territory.
That has only been outpaced by a rally in 1982. Explanations for the abrupt change in momentum point to a combination of hedge unwinding, systematic buying and short covering by hedge funds in macro products.
While the Nasdaq’s winning streak has propelled the index to fresh all-time highs, tech valuations remain near their 10- year average.
Earnings estimates have been rising in concert with stocks, keeping forward price-to-earnings ratios at low levels.
“This reset provides a more constructive entry point in equities, particularly across large-cap quality growth,” said Scott Rubner, Citadel Securities head of equity and equity derivatives strategy.
Netflix Inc. slumped after an underwhelming forecast.
Alstom SA shares slid the most in over two years in Paris after the manufacturer withdrew financial guidance for this fiscal year.
An index of Asian shares snapped a three-day streak of wins.
Next week, in addition to tracking progress on a peace deal ahead of the Tuesday expiry of the US-Iran ceasefire deal, traders will be watching a confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve.
Warsh’s comments could indicate if he plans to pressure central bank members to cut interest rates this year, according to Ian Lyngen at BMO.
“We maintain that the direction on monetary policy rates at this stage in the cycle will be dictated by the performance of the real economy during the spike in energy prices,” BMO’s head of US rates strategy wrote.
“It’s much too soon to estimate the extent of the damage done to the global economy and how higher energy costs will impact the US consumer.”
Corporate News:
* Netflix Inc. gave a forecast for the second quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations, sending the shares tumbling.
* Intel Corp. shares leaped to their highest intraday level since the dot-com era on Friday as optimism that the chipmaker’s turnaround plan is working continues to grow.
* A consortium including Bouygues Telecom, Iliad SA and Orange SA have entered exclusive negotiations to buy billionaire Patrick Drahi’s telecom company SFR.
* OnlyFans, the platform best known for adult content, is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake to Architect Capital in a deal that would value the British company at more than $3 billion.
* Apple Inc.’s marketing executive in charge of the Apple Watch, AirPods, health and smart home initiatives said he’s retiring.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to a record high as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3% to a record high
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026
* The MSCI World Index rose 1.1% to a record high
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1769
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3518
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 158.59 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin surged 3%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026
* Ether surged 3.4%, more than any closing gain since April 8, 2026
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points, the most since March 30, 2026
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 2.96%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.76%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 11%, the most since April 8, 2026
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to $4,854.61 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Andre Janse van Vuuren, Subrat Patnaik, Neil Campling, Dani Burger, Jan-Patrick Barnert, Michael Msika, Levin Stamm and Daniel Curtis.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. –Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012.
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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828