April 5, 2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

April 5, 1958 – Ripple Rock blown up with 1.2 tons of Nitramex, in world’s largest non-nuclear explosion to date; the reef was a shipping hazard just below the surface of Seymour Narrows near Campbell River that had sunk or damaged 119 vessels and caused the death of over 100 people. Captain George Vancouver called the narrows “one of the vilest stretches of water in the world.” Campbell River, BC – – (CBC Archives)

On this day in 1614, Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, married English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Va. The marriage helped maintain peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Following days of heavy rain and rapid snow melt in the Yorkshire Dales, the River Ouse is 11ft 10ins above its usual depth, and has burst its banks, flooding roads and riverside properties in the centre of York. 
Credit: Paul Kingston/NNP

Volunteers ride electric bikes on a walkway built on a cliff at Laojun Mountain, Luoyang, Henan Province of China. 50 environmental protection volunteers challenged themselves to traverse the glass walkway to increase awareness of environmentally-friendly travel during the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday. 
Credit: VCG Via Getty Images

China’s Dongfeng team arrives in Itajai, Santa Catarina, Brazil, during the Volvo Ocean Race. The toughest stretch of the around-the-world epic, that set off from Auckland on March 18, takes the yachts across inhospitable waters from New Zealand to Cape Horn and then up South America’s eastern coast to the Brazilian city of Itajai. 
Credit: Eduardo Valente/AFP/Getty Images

Photographer Jamie MacArthur,52, camped out for six days in the country to try and get the perfect shot of an osprey fishing in a Scottish loch. 
Credit: Jamie Macarthur/Mercury Press
Market Closes for April 5^th, 2018

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
9%
Spotify shares fell as much 9% on Wednesday, raising questions about the potential costs of its unorthodox listing process a day after its splashy market debut.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canada’s equity benchmark gained as Canadian crude prices rose to the highest since 2015, sending energy shares up the most since November.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 192 points or 1.3 percent to 15,356.05, rebounding from three days of losses. Energy shares jumped 3.4 percent, with Suncor Energy Inc. up 4.7 percent and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. gaining 4.1 percent.
     The health-care index added 3.6 percent as cannabis stocks rose. Aurora Cannabis Inc. added 11 percent and Aphria Inc. gained 9.6 percent.
     In other moves:
                          Stocks
* Corus Entertainment Inc. jumped 19 percent, the most ever.  Second-quarter earnings beat the highest estimate, boosting a stock that’s lost 39 percent since the beginning of the year
* West Fraser Timber Co. rose 2.6 percent and Interfor Corp. gained 2.3 percent after lumber futures rose to a record for a third day
* Tricon Capital Group Inc. gained 4.7 percent, the most since November. Analysts at Raymond James said the stock’s “extreme price dislocation” provides an attractive entry point
                          Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $17.00 discount to WTI
* Gold fell 0.9 percent to $1,324.30 an ounce, the lowest in a week
                           FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to C$1.2751 per U.S. dollar after the U.S. was said to soften a key Nafta demand
* The Canada 10-year government bond yield rose one basis point to 2.18 percent
US
By Jeremy Herron and Sarah Ponczek
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for a third day as White House officials signaled that the president’s tough talk on trade won’t lead to growth-sapping tariffs. Treasuries fell and the dollar gained.
     The S&P 500 Index closed at the highest level in more than two weeks as investors grew more confident the administration’s protectionist rhetoric wouldn’t result in equally stringent policy. The dollar strengthened for the third time this week, while the 10-year Treasury yield popped above 2.83 percent ahead of Friday’s payroll numbers.
     “After the initial introduction of trade tensions and the back and forth between the U.S. and China and consternation around Nafta, the markets are now beginning to see through the bluster of negotiations and they’re dialing back some of their most significant fears of a full on trade war,” Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, said by phone.
     Stocks regained a measure of poise after representatives from the U.S. and China left the door open for a negotiated solution to avoid tariff proposals that aren’t set to take effect for several months. Federal Reserve officials said it’s premature to fully assess the impact of the trade dispute, which is adding uncertainty to an otherwise bright economic outlook ahead of the jobs report.
     Meanwhile, Facebook Inc. climbed as traders took in stride a company disclosure that data on most of its 2 billion users could have been harvested improperly by third parties. Investors are cautiously returning to technology shares after a selloff last month gave momentum to a global equity correction. Elsewhere, oil gained and Bitcoin held below $7,000. European equities caught up to the American rebound, surging the most in two months as every sector rallied. The pound fell after purchasing managers’ data for February disappointed.
     Here are some key events for the remainder of this week:
* On Friday, America publishes non-farm payrolls and an employment report; the jobless rate was forecast to have fallen in March after holding at 4.1 percent for five straight months.
     And these are the main moves in markets:
                          Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to 2,662.80 at 4 p.m. in New York.
* The Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.5 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 2.4 percent, hitting the highest in more than two weeks.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 1 percent.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.9 percent.
                         Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent on the biggest advance in more than a week.
* The euro decreased 0.4 percent to $1.2234, the weakest in more than two weeks.
* The British pound fell 0.6 percent to $1.4000, the biggest fall in more than a week.
* The Japanese yen declined 0.6 percent to 107.47 per dollar.
                          Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed three basis points to 2.83 percent, the highest in more than a week.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.52 percent on the largest surge in more than two weeks.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to 1.401 percent on its fifth straight advance.
                          Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4 percent to $63.63 a barrel.
* Copper surged 1.8 percent to $306.60 a pound, the biggest jump in almost four weeks.
* Gold dipped 0.5 percent to $1,326.19 an ounce.
–With assistance from Lu Wang and Todd White. 

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Please subdue the anguish of your soul.  Nobody is destined only to happiness or to pain.  The wheel of life takes one up and down by turn. -Kalidasa, c.353-420 CE

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