April 26, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.  Richter Scale Day.

April 26, 1937: Massacre, Guernica, Spain.
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 & causing tens of thousands of deaths across Europe in the coming decades due to cancer caused by the radioactive fallout.

John James Audubon, artist, b. 1785.
Frederick Law Olmstead, landscaper, b.1822.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher, b. 1889.
Charles Richter, scientist, b. 1900.

Blades fall off Moulin Rouge windmill in Paris
The blades atop the iconic cabaret fell off this week, but all shows will go on as planned, a spokesperson for the venue said.

Venice begins charging entry fee for day-trippers
Italy’s canal city has begun charging an entry fee for people visiting for the day, a controversial measure to tackle chronic over-tourism at peak times.

Highlights from the 2024 NFL Draft
For the first time, five quarterbacks were taken in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. Follow the live list of picks and selections here.

Hundreds of black ‘spiders’ spotted in mysterious ‘Inca City’ on Mars in new satellite photos
Every spring, creepy black “spiders” sprout up on Mars as buried carbon dioxide ice releases dusty geysers of gas. New ESA images show the phenomenon has begun in the strange Inca City formation. Read More.

Plato’s burial place finally revealed after AI deciphers ancient scroll carbonized in Mount Vesuvius eruption
Researchers used AI to decipher an ancient papyrus that includes details about where the Greek philosopher is buried.  Read More.

Scientists find one of the oldest stars in the universe in a galaxy right next to ours
An ancient star discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud has revealed the chemical fingerprint of the early universe. It hints that conditions were not the same everywhere when the first stars forged the elements for life. Read More.

China green-lights mass production of autonomous flying taxis — with commercial flights set for 2025
The EHang EH216-S autonomous flying taxi is the first eVTOL ready for mass production and could lead the way for flying cars around the world. Read More.

World’s thinnest gold leaf, dubbed ‘goldene,’ is just 1 atom thick
Goldene is the latest 2D material to be made since graphene was first created in 2004. Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Marrakech, Morocco
A crescent moon over Jemaa el-Fnaa, the city’s main square
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Hawaiian surfer Gabriela Bryan shared a wave with a pod of dolphins as she won her first World Surf League tour event at the Margaret River Pro in western Australia. “That wave was sent to me by someone, the dolphins in it. It was magical,” she said
Photograph: World Surf League

​​​​​​​A giraffe walks through a rainbow at the Zimanga Private Game Reserve in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa
Photograph: Calvin Kotze/Animal News Agency
Market Closes for April 26^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1973, the Chicago Board Options Exchange opened, becoming the first marketplace for trading listed options—on 16 stocks.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.4%, or 83.86 to 21,969.24 in Toronto.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain and had the largest move, increasing 12.5%.
Today, 156 of 224 shares rose, while 63 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 0.9%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.7%
* The index advanced 7.9% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period * The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.8% below its 52-week high on April 9, 2024 and 17.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 14.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.47t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.07% compared with 8.00% in the previous session and the average of 7.81% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 44.1729| 1.7| 45/5
Financials | 28.2266| 0.4| 19/8
Information Technology | 7.5806| 0.4| 5/5
Consumer Staples | 2.6420| 0.3| 7/3
Energy | 2.0466| 0.0| 27/13
Consumer Discretionary | 1.9774| 0.3| 10/3
Real Estate | 0.7527| 0.2| 13/5
Industrials | 0.7405| 0.0| 20/7
Health Care | 0.4540| 0.7| 4/0
Utilities | -1.7519| -0.2| 6/9
Communication Services | -2.9871| -0.4| 0/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
First Quantum Minerals | 10.0500| 12.5| 59.2| 68.4
Brookfield Corp | 9.9970| 1.8| -16.1| 5.3
Shopify | 9.6260| 1.2| -39.5| -5.5
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -3.3230| -0.5| -12.4| 6.5
Waste Connections | -3.7820| -0.9| 11.1| 13.0
Enbridge | -8.3210| -1.1| 20.2| 2.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in the world’s largest technology companies lifted stocks, with Wall Street also breathing a sigh of relief after the latest inflation data came roughly in line with estimates.
Equities notched their best week in 2024 after Microsoft Corp. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. sent a clear message to investors: Our spending on artificial intelligence and cloud computing is paying off.
That came as a positive signal for many traders wondering whether the main engine of the bull market would be able to live up to the high bar set for the industry.
The latest results from large technology companies have reinforced the group’s strong fundamentals, helping offset worries about the macroeconomic backdrop, according to Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“With tech fundamentals staying robust, in particular from big tech in the first quarter, we continue to highlight the recent correction has provided interesting entry points for tech and AI-related stocks,” Marcelli said.
The S&P 500 closed around 5,100, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed almost 2%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.67%.
The dollar rose.
To Clark Bellin at Bellwether Wealth, Friday’s inflation report keeps rate cuts on the table for 2024, but more likely towards the end of the year.
“We believe the stock market can power through these elevated interest rates, as earnings are still fairly strong and companies are figuring out how to still thrive in this high interest rate environment,” he noted.
Bellin says investors should continue to be on the lookout for opportunities in the market and consider taking advantage of the recent pullback, where “many quality stocks went on sale.”
“Every new inflation print has elevated importance, and the market was in need of an ‘in-line’ print to confirm that the Fed wasn’t starting to lose this battle,” said John Kerschner at Janus Henderson Investors. “Although inflation is still too high for the Fed’s comfort, if progress does continue, it still may be reasonable to assume one, maybe two, cuts in 2024.”
The US equity market will continue to rely on a handful of mega-caps stocks for direction until an uptick in real interest rates ignites recession fears, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists led by Michael Hartnett.
That concentration will remain intact until real 10-year yields — rates adjusted to reflect the true cost of funds — rise to around 3%, “or higher yields combine with higher credit spreads to threaten recession,” they wrote.
Elevated bond yields adjusted for inflation, seen as a proxy for tight financial conditions, are a common way for stock-market bubbles to burst.

Corporate Highlights:
* Intel Corp., the biggest maker of personal computer processors, gave a lackluster forecast for the current period, indicating that it’s still struggling to return to the top tier of the chip industry.
* Snap Inc. offered positive signs that its efforts to revamp its digital advertising business are gaining popularity with marketers — boosting revenue and providing stronger competition with powerhouses Google and Meta Platforms Inc.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. declined after disappointing first-quarter performances.
* AbbVie Inc. lifted its full-year profit guidance as newer anti-inflammatory treatments like Rinvoq and Skyrizi take over for Humira, the blockbuster arthritis drug that fueled the company’s growth for more than 15 years.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0700
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2498
* The Japanese yen fell 1.4% to 157.90 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.6% to $63,767.27
* Ether fell 1.2% to $3,135.52
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.67%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.57%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.32%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,339.99 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Msika.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Sing away sorrow, cast away care. –Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616.

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