April 26, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On April 26, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere; at least 31 Soviets died immediately. Go to article >

April 26, 1937: Massacre, Guernica Spain.
Charles Richter, scientist, b. 1900.
John James Audubon, b.1785.

Adele cries with James Corden on the final ‘Carpool Karaoke’.  Very few people can belt heart-wrenching ballads quite like Adele — but James Corden comes in a close second. Watch the video here.

Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and social activist, died Tuesday, his publicist told CNN. He was 96.

What’s on the menu for the White House state dinner tonight?  These decadent dishes will be served at the elaborate state dinner, traditionally one of the most glamorous events hosted at the White House.

Mattel introduces Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome.  The company said it closely worked with the National Down Syndrome Society on the doll’s shape, features and clothing to ensure that it accurately represents a person with Down syndrome.

Disastrous SpaceX launch under federal investigation after raining potentially hazardous debris on homes and beaches
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the April 20 launch of SpaceX’s Starship amid claims the launch smashed windows and rained ash on the habitats of endangered animals. Read More

2,600-year-old stone busts of ‘lost’ ancient Tartessos people discovered in sealed pit in Spain
Archaeologists in Spain recently discovered five life-size busts of human figures depicting the lost Tartessos civilization. Read More

Newly discovered jellyfish is a 24-eyed weirdo related to the world’s most venomous marine creature
Researchers named the newfound species Tripedalia maipoensis, after Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong, where they discovered the transparent critter. Read More

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Lingjiaohu, China
A farmer harvests lotus roots at a pond in Nanxian County
Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

A real-life Rothko
‘A cruise ship leaving Monaco as the sun sets. Taken with a zoom lens from home in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The colours have not been adjusted.’
Photograph: Richard McCreery

Shimmering shoreline
‘Photo taken of Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland. Taken on the path from Craster.’
Photograph: Keith Fenwick
Market Closes for April 26^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1973, the Chicago Board Options Exchange opened for trading, with call options available on 16 U.S. common stocks.  For the first time, stock options were listed on a dedicated exchange and registered for trading in standardized form.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.4%, or 73.15 to 20,366.72 in Toronto.
The index dropped to the lowest closing level since April 10.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.2%.
TFI International Inc. had the largest drop, falling 11.3%.
Today, 155 of 232 shares fell, while 74 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.3%
* The index declined 1.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index lost 3.7% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4% below its 52-week high on May 4, 2022 and 14% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.5% in the past 5 days and rose 4.4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.3 on a trailing basis and 13.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.26t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 8.61% compared with 10.03% in the previous session and the average of 11.87% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | -45.3157| -1.6| 4/22
Energy | -36.9502| -1.1| 8/32
Utilities | -7.1000| -0.8| 2/14
Materials | -5.5977| -0.2| 15/34
Real Estate | -3.5432| -0.7| 2/19
Health Care | -0.6202| -0.9| 2/4
Consumer Discretionary | 2.1916| 0.3| 9/6
Consumer Staples | 2.4014| 0.3| 5/6
Communication Services | 2.9449| 0.3| 3/2
Financials | 6.8692| 0.1| 17/12
Information Technology | 11.5615| 0.9| 7/4
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -15.5800| -2.2| -7.2| 4.7
Brookfield Corp | -10.3200| -2.4| 24.8| -0.8
Canadian National | -10.0800| -1.5| 15.2| -1.0
RBC | 4.5250| 0.4| 47.0| 3.9
Teck Resources | 7.4780| 4.1| 1.5| 21.1
CGI Inc | 7.9730| 4.1| 39.0| 18.4
US
By Cristin Flanagan and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — US stocks ended lower as fresh concerns about the health of American regional lenders dragged down bank shares, even as big-tech earnings helped support broader sentiment.
The S&P 500 retreated 0.4% as First Republic Bank’s woes deepened Wednesday.
The US regional bank plunged 30% in another volatile session after it was said to face potential curbs on borrowing from the Federal Reserve.
Treasuries fell after an auction, with US lawmakers expected to vote on a debt ceiling bill in the early evening.
Meanwhile, PacWest Bancorp offered a glimmer of hope that First Republic doesn’t portend trouble for the broader sector.
Its shares rose 7.5% amid signs of recovery in its deposit levels.
The losses came as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6% after Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. both beat first-quarter earnings expectations late on Tuesday.
Alphabet ended trading little changed, while Microsoft rose 7.2%, even as the UK separately vetoed a takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc.
Tech stocks were also higher post-market Wednesday following an earnings beat by Meta Platforms Inc.
A run on deposits at First Republic has raised questions about the effect of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes on US lenders and what the central bank can do to stop a bank crisis from spreading. Some market participants have speculated the tightening cycle may end sooner than expected, though inflation remains high.
The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the so-called PCE deflator, is due Friday.
“Up to this point Fed officials have taken substantial comfort from indications that acute [bank] stress was contained and there was no immediate sudden stop to bank credit,” Krishna Guha, Evercore ISI’s head of central bank strategy, wrote. “That is a bit less firmly locked now, and we cannot rule out the possibility developments around First Republic could unfold in a manner that would lead the FOMC to skip [raising rates in] May while signaling a hike in June.”
In Europe, the regional stock benchmark declined 0.8% amid disappointing earnings.
Software producer Dassault Systemes sank after missing revenue estimates.  
Dutch chip-tool maker ASM International slumped after offering a tepid outlook for the rest of the year.
Roche Holding AG retreated even as its first-quarter sales exceeded expectations.
Meanwhile, beats from Standard Chartered Plc and Sweden’s SEB AB failed to bolster sentiment.
“The markets are very much focused on some of the earnings story, but possibly overlooking the weight of economic deceleration that is playing through right now, particularly in the United States,”
John Woods, Asia Pacific chief investment  officer at Credit Suisse Group AG, said on Bloomberg Television.
“I’m looking at a whole range of technical signals, which seem to be suggesting a risk-off environment.”
Looking ahead, Tony Welch of SignatureFD said he expects tech earnings to continue to shine.
“We always have to think about what the market has priced relative to expectations,” he said. “Throughout the first quarter of the year, the market was starting to price in, ‘Okay, things aren’t as bad for big tech as what we thought they were.  They’re going to be able to preserve profit margins better than we thought they were.’ I suspect you’re going to see a decent beat rate among those names.”
Elsewhere in markets, oil fell, gold slid, and Bitcoin pared an advance.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index fell 1.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.6% to $1.1035
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2463
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 133.64 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $27,809.64
* Ether fell 2.1% to $1,821.25
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.44%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.40%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.73%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.6% to $74.27 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,997.60 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Msika, Tassia Sipahutar, Sujata Rao and Robert Brand.
Have a  lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

We cannot be just unless we are kind. –Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues,1715-1747.
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