April 3, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April is the month of golden Aphrodite, modest, gentle goddess of love and beauty.   It is popularly thought to derive from the Latin aperire “to open”, but it is more likely from the Etruscan apru.  It is the month when trees unfold and the earth opens with new life.  By mid-month, warblers, vireos and flycatchers that have spent the winter in Mexico and Central America are arriving in full force on the west coast.  Look above and you will see the beautiful aerial courtship dances of many birds especially hawks…

On this day in…
1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries.
Go to article »
1934, Jane Goodall was born.
1924, Marlon Brando was born.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Drops of water cover a spider’s web at the Chateau La Louviere in Leognan, France, on Monday. Regis Duvignau/Reuters

People walk through the entrance of the ‘Giro Giro Tondo design for children’ exhibition at the Triennale museum in Milan, Italy, on Monday. Milan Design week is taking place in various locations across the city from April 4-9. Antonio Calanni/AP
Market Closes for April 3^rd, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, Microsoft’s stock plunges 14.5%, shedding $80 billion in market value, after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issues a final ruling finding that Microsoft had violated Federal antitrust law. The slide in Microsoft’s shares causes the Nasdaq to suffer one of its worst days ever, plunging 349.15 points, or 7.6%.
Numbers of the Day
$413.1 billion:

The amount of debt issued by high-grade companies in the first quarter, the most in a quarter on record, according to Dealogic.
$52.6 billion:

The value of dollar bonds issued in the first quarter by Chinese companies, up 72% from the previous quarter and nearly five times the year-earlier total.

Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed slightly higher, diverging from oil prices late in the day as gains in materials offset declines in energy stocks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 37 points or 0.2 percent to 15,584.40. Materials shares rose 1.7 percent, led by a 5.5 percent gain at Teck Resources Ltd., which was boosted by a big gain in the price of coking coal.
     Energy shares dipped 0.2 percent as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7 percent to $50.26. Production resumed at Libya’s biggest oil field, offsetting optimism that OPEC will extend its production cuts.
     In other moves:
* Hudson’s Bay Co. fell 8 percent, its biggest decline since January 10, on heavy volume. The company reports fourth-quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday
* Magna International Inc. lost 2.2 percent as several major automakers reported bigger March sales declines than analysts had expected.
US
By Lu Wang
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell on the first day of the second quarter, with falling bond yields and crude prices weighing on banks and energy companies. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. slipped after the automakers reported fewer U.S. vehicle sales in March than analysts had projected.
     The S&P 500 Index retreated 0.2 percent to 2,358.84 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring losses after the measure approached the 50-day average of 2,341, a level seen by some analysts as providing support. The benchmark measure last week capped its biggest increase in six weeks, taking its first quarter gain to 5.5 percent, the most since 2015. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 20,650.21 on Monday.
* Small-cap stocks resumed their underperformance this year, with the Russell 2000 Index erasing 1.2 percent and halting a seven-day advance
* The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent, after touching an intraday record high
* The S&P 500 Automobiles & Components Index sank 2.3 percent to the lowest close since December
* The S&P 500 has jumped 14 percent from before the U.S. election, as corporate earnings rebounded and investors speculated U.S. President Donald Trump would deliver on his promises including lower taxes and higher fiscal spending
* “While political developments in Washington and around the world are likely to garner the most attention across media headlines in the months ahead, we expect investors will focus their attention on earnings results, economic data and signals from Federal Reserve officials,” John Stoltzfus, chief market strategist at Oppenheimer & Co., wrote in a note.
* First quarter profit in the S&P 500 probably grew 9.7 percent, led by technology and financial companies, analyst estimates show. The gain would solidify the earnings recovery that started in the second half of 2016 after a five-quarter contraction.
* Tesla Inc. rose 7.3 percent after setting a record for deliveries and production in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates.
* Earnings reports from Monsanto Co. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are due this week, followed by releases from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. next week.
* ECONOMY:
** America’s factories continued to expand in March at a robust pace, with the latest Institute for Supply Management data matching economist forecasts. Yet higher-than-expected readings on employment and prices paid suggest inflation pressure.
** Investors will also watch a meeting between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Trump this week, and the March U.S. jobs report Friday.
* EARNINGS (S&P 500):
** None until April 4
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.5 percent for its first decline in five days after the market posted longest run of quarterly gains since 2014 and investors last week added the most money to European equity funds in a year. Banks declined the most, followed by carmakers and insurers.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

The human voice can never reach the distance
that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.
Mahatma Gandhi

As ever,

Carolann

Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.
                                                -Albert Camus, 1913-1960

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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