April 24, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
1779 – North West Company cooperative chartered as a formal company. 
1962 – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology achieved the first satellite relay of a television signal.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tourists visit the medieval city of Carcassonne in France, where the walls have been partly covered with yellow concentric circles to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the inscription of the city as UNESCO World Heritage site. 
Credit: Eric Cabanis/AFP/Getty Images

An electrician prepares electrical wires along a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 
Credit: Samrang Pring/Reuters

People hand make traditional noodles during a working skills competition in Fuzhou in China’s Fujian province. 
Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for April 24^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
51
The S&P 500 has spent 51 days in correction territory, the longest such stretch since 2008. A correction is deemed to start when the index falls 10% from a recent high and end when the index rises 10% from its new low.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks reversed an earlier gain to close lower, pressured by weakness in the energy space as new Iranian sanctions appeared less likely.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 75 points or 0.5 percent after trading in positive territory for most of the morning. Energy shares lost 1.6 percent as crude prices tumbled on easing sanction worries.
     Consumer staples retreated 1.4 percent, with grocery retailer Metro Inc. leading the group lower. Metro lost 3 percent, the most since 2016, after quarterly sales missed estimates.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Mitel Networks Corp. jumped 9.6 percent to a record high after private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners agreed to buy it for $1.35 billion
* PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. lost 7.5 percent, the most since 2015, as slowing drilling activity in Saskatchewan weighed on its first-quarter results
* Restaurant Brands International Inc. gained 4.3 percent as Burger King’s results gave it a lift
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.10 discount to WTI
* Gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,331.40 an ounce
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to C$1.2826 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield fell one basis point to 2.35 percent
US
By Sarah Ponczek and Janine Wolf
     (Bloomberg) — Stocks tumbled as a rout in the shares of industrial and technology companies sent indexes spiraling lower amid a raft of earnings and renewed selling in the bull market’s biggest winners. The 10-year Treasury yield pierced 3 percent for the first time in four years.
     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a fifth day, the longest losing streak since March 2017. The sell off accelerated after industrial bellwether Caterpillar Inc. said that the first quarter was its “high water mark” for the year. The Nasdaq 100 Index slumped 2.1 percent, with Alphabet Inc.’s rise in capital spending sending its shares lower 4.5 percent.
     Investors also focused on the rising 10-year yield and its implications for other assets. The dollar weakened after hitting the highest since January, while crude slipped back toward $67 a barrel. Gold rallied.
     “All of a sudden, rates are pushing 3 percent,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “If rates start to normalize, so is your stock valuation. And I think that’s increasingly what the market is starting to be looking at.”
     Investors are weighing the implications of climbing bond yields that have been spurred in part by higher commodity prices and concern surrounding their inflationary impact on the wider economy. But volatility in interest-rate markets remains low and equity price swings are well off the highs seen earlier this year, indicating investors believe rising borrowing costs may not be enough to cause outsized pain to equities — until now.
     Elsewhere, aluminum extended its biggest slump since 2005 after the U.S. signaled Monday it may lift United Co. Rusal sanctions if Oleg Deripaska divests control of the company. Rusal shares in Hong Kong posted their biggest-ever gain.
     These are some important events coming up this week:
* U.S. GDP and jobless claims are due.
* Earnings season continues. Among those reporting: Amazon.com, Samsung and Credit Suisse.
* The European Central Bank has a rate decision on Thursday.  Investors will watch for any sign that officials are preparing a shift in stimulus plans for their June meeting.
* Bank of Japan announces its latest policy decision Friday and releases a quarterly outlook report.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index dropped 1.3 percent as of 4:03 p.m. New York time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.7 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent.
* The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.4 percent, reaching the highest in more than 11 weeks on its sixth consecutive advance.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.3 percent to the lowest in about three weeks.
                          Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.2 percent, after reaching the highest in three months.
* The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2233.
* The British pound rose 0.3 percent to $1.3980.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.74 per dollar.
                           Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.99 percent, after breaking the 3 percent level for this first time 2014.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.63 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.54 percent.
                           Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2 percent to $67.80 a barrel, after reaching the highest in more than three years.
* Gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,332.02 an ounce. 
–With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick.
 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
                                                             -Desmond Tutu, b. 1931

Carolann

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