April 3, 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friends, 

Tangents:
April 3, 1860 – Pony Express established.
Marlon Brando, actor, born April 3, 1924
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion ($53-billion 2019 dollars) in aid for 16 European countries.
Go to article »
 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Chefs attend the theatre Vincenzo Bellini “Cibo Nostrum 2019” on day 2 of the great feast of Italian cuisine, celebrating the culture of food and wine in Catania, Italy. CREDIT: FABRIZIO VILLA/GETTY IMAGE

Armathwaite Hall hotel in Keswick, Cumbria holds Lemoga classes with the lemurs from Lake District Wild Life Park mingling with the class to create a personal yoga experience which aims to heighten the sense of wellbeing for both lemur and human. CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA

The sun rises behind the ‘Eiserne Steg’ (Iron Footbridge) pedestrian bridge in Frankfurt, Germany. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL PROBST
Market Closes for April 3^rd, 2019

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson issued a final ruling finding that Microsoft had violated Federal antitrust law. Shares of the software company plunged 14%, slicing $80 billion off the firm’s market value to put it at $473 billion. The Nasdaq suffered one of its worst days ever, tumbling 7.6%. Today, Microsoft has a market cap of $914 billion.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks edged higher for a third day, boosted by results from retailer Hudson’s Bay Co. and progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 0.1 percent to 16,279.86. Hudson’s Bay Co. was the biggest gainer on the benchmark, adding 5.8 percent, the most since February, after its Saks Fifth Avenue chain reported a 3.9 percent increase in same-store sales.The gains were moderated by a 0.5 percent drop in energy stocks after a report showed U.S. crude stockpiles grew by the most since January.
Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. lost 5 percent and Encana Corp. fell 4.7 percent.
In other moves:
Stocks
* Tricon Capital Group Inc. slid 5.8 percent, the most since
2015. The real-estate company’s $1.4 billion portfolio acquisition creates a potential overhang but the positives outweigh the negatives, according to TD Securities
* Teck Resources Ltd. fell 2.6 percent. The miner said it expects the global copper market to remain in deficit to 2025 even at low demand growth rates
* Boyd Group Income Fund gained 3.7 percent to a record high after expanding a credit facility to $400 million
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $8.20 discount to WTI
* Gold was little changed at $1,289.90 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1 percent to C$1.3344 per U.S. dollar
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose 4 basis points to 1.71 percent
US
By Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek
      (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks staged a late rally to close at almost six-month highs as optimism over global growth revived investor risk appetite. Sovereign-debt yields continued to climb from recent two-year lows.
The benchmark S&P 500 finished positive for a fifth day, equaling the longest winning streak in two months. U.S. equities had slumped midday after Bloomberg News reported that millions of Facebook user records were found on cloud computing servers.
On the trade front, the deal that the U.S. and China are crafting would give Beijing until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases and allow American companies to wholly own enterprises in the Asian nation, according to three peoplefamiliar with the talks.
“Trade matters because it could impact corporate earnings,” said Alec Young, managing director of global markets research for FTSE Russell. “As a result, the biggest thing investors will be looking for is a full rollback of all existing tariffs plus commitments not to initiate new tariffs in the future.”
Investors are looking for fresh catalysts to sustain an equities rally that so far has weathered underwhelming global-growth data. Topping their agenda are signs of a rebound in China’s economy, the trade war possibly ending and moves toward a softer Brexit. Trade talks are continuing in Washington where Chinese Vice Premier Liu He began planned meetings on Wednesday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped after a string of economic reports from Italy to Germany helped earlier to ease concern over the euro area’s growth outlook. Treasuries fell with sovereign bonds in Europe, where the key German 10-year yield climbed back above zero for the first time in a week.
Elsewhere, oil hovered not far from a four-month high in New York. MSCI’s gauge of emerging-market stocks climbed to an eight-month high. The Bloomberg Commodities Index climbed for a third day as iron ore bounded higher on concern over supplies from Brazil.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show non-farm payrolls up 180,000 in March, similar to the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts.
* India’s central bank will set policy on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4:05 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 1 percent, the fourth consecutive rise.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.8 percent, the fifth straight increase.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent, the fourth consecutive gain.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
* The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.1240, while the yen weakened 0.1 percent to 111.46 per dollar.
* The British pound strengthened 0.3 percent to $1.3163, the third straight increase.
* The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index increased 0.2 percent.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 2.52 percent.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased six basis points to 0.01 percent.
* Britain’s 10-year yield jumped nine basis points to 1.10 percent.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate fell 0.3 percent to $62.42 a barrel, the first drop in four days.
* Gold eased 0.2 percent to $1,290 an ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.4 percent, the third straight increase.

Have a great night!

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann

But be not afraid of greatness: some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
  -William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

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