Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Monday.
Blossom by blossom, the spring begins. –Algernon Charles Swinburne.
April 6, 1896: The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece, rebooting a global sporting institution with modern rules and formats.
Raphael, artist, b.1483.
Elizabeth Barrett Browing, poet, b.1806.
| Tudor Heart: A Renaissance gold necklace featuring a French-English pun on the love between Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon |
A chance discovery of a 16th-century necklace reveals new information about Tudor-era jewelry styles. Read More.
| Hubble images taken 25 years apart show big changes in the iconic Crab Nebula — Space photo of the week |
Astronomers reveal new insight into an iconic supernova remnant’s evolution, structure and pulsar-driven growth over 25 years. Read More.
| Antarctica hides huge caches of gold, silver, copper and iron. As the ice melts, countries may race to harvest them. |
Melting ice, rebounding land, and rising seas will change what resources are available in Antarctica, a new analysis finds. Read More.
| Concentric rocky rings adorned with ancient artwork wear a magma ‘hat’ in the Sahara |
A 2025 astronaut photo shows a massif made of concentric mountain ridges in the Libyan desert. The rocky walls contain ancient artworks and are occasionally used to contain
herds of grazing cattle. Read More.
Champions emerge from March Madness
UCLA dominated South Carolina to win its first women’s NCAA championship in program history. The final two men’s teams face off tonight at 8:50 p.m. ET with the national title on the line.
A freakishly dry spring is changing the landscape in Colorado
Drought is spreading fast in Colorado, where major cities are declaring their earliest water restrictions in history.
Video: Make money training robots how to clean
Thousands of workers around the world are helping develop humanoid robots by filming themselves doing household chores.
Shrimp cocktail in space
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts showed off the type of food they eat in space as their Orion spacecraft continues its journey towards the moon. See what’s on the menu.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Gouda, the Netherlands
Every Easter Monday the city of Gouda hosts a free breakfast in the historic city centre
Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock
Washington, US
A girl poses for photos under blooming Yoshino cherry trees at the University of Washington, Seattle
Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
Oxfordshire, UK
The waning gibbous moon visible sets in the early morning sky. This intermediate moon phase starts after the full moon
Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock
Market Closes for April 6th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
46669.88 | +165.21 |
| +0.36% | ||
| S&P 500 | 6611.83 | +29.14 |
| +0.44% | ||
| NASDAQ | 21996.34 | +117.16 |
| +0.54% | ||
| TSX | 33181.98 | +73.77 |
| +0.22% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 53413.68 | +290.19 |
| +0.55% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25116.53 | -177.50 |
| -0.70% | ||
| SEN SEX | 74106.85 | +787.30 |
| +1.07% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10436.29 | +71.50 |
| +0.69% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.466 | 3.482 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.881 | 3.911 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.3307 | 4.3049 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.8866 | 4.8795 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7187 | 0.7184 |
| US $ |
0.3913 | 1.3918 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6227 | 1.6057 |
| US $ |
0.8664 | 1.1541 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4639.35 | 4739.00 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 112.41 | 111.54 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, a banking megamerger was unveiled, creating one of the biggest players in U.S. finance: Citigroup. The deal united Citicorp, led by chairman John Reed, with Travelers Group, led by Sanford “Sandy” Weill. The two banks, already heavyweights in their own right, were code-named Jupiter and Saturn in deal talks.
🍒Canada🍓
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the fourth day, climbing 0.2%, or 73.76 to 33,181.97 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 10.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.6%.
MDA Space Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 6.8%.
Today, 125 of 221 shares rose, while 93 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 43% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.9% below its 52-week high on March 2, 2026 and 49.3% above its low on April 7, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.8% in the past 5 days and rose 0.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.8 on a trailing basis and 16.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.24t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 18.55% compared with 18.53% in the previous session and the average of 18.94% over the past month
Index Points
Financials | 49.7640| 0.5| 16/8
Industrials | 24.0104| 0.7| 23/6
Consumer Discretionary | 9.0956| 0.9| 7/2
Consumer Staples | 7.5731| 0.7| 8/2
Information Technology | 4.5035| 0.2| 4/5
Real Estate | 0.8175| 0.2| 9/9
Health Care | -0.0520| -0.1| 3/1
Utilities | -0.2617| 0.0| 6/8
Energy | -5.2151| -0.1| 18/18
Communication Services | -5.6831| -0.9| 0/5
Materials | -10.8115| -0.2| 31/29
Canadian Natural Resources | 15.7400| 1.6| -7.9| 44.6
RBC | 14.5800| 0.7| 50.9| -2.2
TD Bank | 10.9300| 0.7| 137.2| 3.2
Cameco | -8.3870| -1.8| -49.9| 22.3
Enbridge | -9.4730| -0.8| -24.2| 13.9
Barrick Mining | -9.6210| -1.4| -45.6| -4.3
MT Newswires:
The resources heavy Toronto Stock Exchange was up Monday for a fourth successive session, giving total gains of 1,300-plus points in that time, buoyed by improved commodity prices and with Rosenberg Research both "constructive" on commodities as an asset class and seeing value oriented sectors round off the top of the sector rankings in both the U.S. and Canada.
Today the TSX was up points or 73.75 points or 0.2% at 33,181.97, even as no sector rose by even 1% while the Battery Metals Index lost 1.2% and Telecom was down 1%.
According to Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet the TSX going in to Monday’s session was year-to-date up 1,395.46 points or 4.40%.
On equity models, Rosenberg Research noted last month’s ‘Strategizer’, its monthly guidebook for active investors, coincided with the start of the war in Iran, and "at the time, the pre-war data led the asset allocation tool to marginally peel off from the prior month’s maximum risk-off allocation".
Its report for April, reflective of the first month of war-time data, has led to a step-up in the model’s risk-on signal; "a reflection of ‘Strategizer’s’ contrarian nature as global financial markets broadly sold-off in March".
Its asset allocation tool points to neutral exposures versus the benchmark, further dialing back the risk-off tone: equities (60%; +15 points versus last month), fixed-income (35%; -10 points from last month), and cash (5%; -5 points compared to the last edition).
On the Canadian equity scorecard, the research noted it soared by nearly +20 points to 29.6 from "extremely" low levels. It is the first score reading in "neutral" territory since May 2025.
It said the primary driver contributing to this month’s scorecard expansion was a "notable" deterioration of the technical’s subcomponents, falling from a near-90th percentile reading to about 30th percentile.
Valuations are relatively less expensive versus the index’s history following March’s sell-off but remain at elevated levels relative to the historical average (above 80th percentile; forward P/E sitting around 16.0x, off the 17.5x peak in early March), it added.
The top sector rankings for Canada are as follows: Materials (#1), Industrials (#2), Real Estate (tied #3), and Consumer Discretionary (tied #3), the research noted.
According to the research, Strategizer’s commodity model was the only model, other than that of the U.S. dollar, to post a decline this month, dropping -6 points to stand at its lowest level since last September, at 61.0.
But, it said, the score remains on the upper half of the ‘neutral’ range, as it has since July 2023.
"Overall, Strategizer is constructive on the asset class, and has been for some time now."
It said the deterioration in score was driven by more crowded positioning.
On aggregate, it added, the model is characterized by neutral fundamentals, technicals, and positioning, and by historically depressed valuation and sentiment scores.
The top individual commodities rankings are as follows: aluminum (#1), crude oil (#2), sugar (#3), heating oil (#4), and RBOB gasoline (#5).
Meanwhile, the research noted the gold model reached a low of 6.8 in October of last year; the "dismal score" was followed by four months of scores fluctuating throughout the teens.
As of now, it also noted, the model had broken back into "neutral" terrain for the first time since last summer, at 36.0.
It said gold has acted inversely to expectations throughout the war, falling -11.6% in March, in its worst monthly performance since October 2008.
The typical "safe-haven" status of the shiny yellow metal has been overshadowed by investors selling their winners to cover losses in other parts of the markets; not dissimilar from what happened following the collapse of Lehman in September 2008, it added.
Of commodities today, gold was steady Monday as the dollar eased following reports the United States is offering Iran a 45-day ceasefire in its war against the Persian Gulf country.
Gold for May delivery was up $3.10 to US$4,682.80 per ounce.
Also, West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed higher as Iran rejected the U.S. offer in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz and beginning talks for a permanent end to the conflict.
WTI crude oil for May delivery closed up $0.87 to settle at US$112.41 per barrel, while June Brent oil was last seen up $1.81 to US$109.98. Price: 33181.97, Change: +73.75, Percent Change: +0.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Oil climbed and stocks whipsawed after President Donald Trump signaled that an escalation of strikes on Iran could come as soon as Tuesday, overshadowing hopes for a ceasefire.
Fears that imminent military action could derail tentative progress toward restoring energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz drove US crude above $112.
In a volatile session, equities held on to small gains, with the S&P 500 posting its longest advance since January. Bonds and the dollar barely budged.
Trump said talks with Iran are “going well” ahead of a Tuesday night deadline to agree to a deal, even as he insisted that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be part of any accord.
If Iran does not agree to the US’s terms, the military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night” and put every power plant “out of business,” Trump warned Monday.
Iran reportedly passed to mediator Pakistan a rejection of a ceasefire proposal.
It demanded a permanent end to the war, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction efforts, in addition to protocol for safe passage through Hormuz, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
“It’s clearly too early for market watchers to stop thinking about geopolitical risk,” said Jeff Buchbinder at LPL Financial. “For now, we believe the best course of action for investors is to be patient.”
While traders kept a close eye on geopolitical developments, they awaited this week’s key inflation readings.
Data showed the US service economy expanded in March at a slower pace as employment shrank by the most since 2023 and input prices accelerated sharply.
The mixed economic signals illustrate the uncertain time for most businesses, according to Jeff Roach at LPL Financial.
“A prolonged struggle over the Strait of Hormuz into May and June would markedly darken the outlook for the US and the global economy,” he said.
“For now, given last Friday’s payroll numbers, Fed policymakers have the luxury of remaining in ‘wait and see’ mode.”
While investors have been fixated on geopolitical risks, the macro data continues to point to a resilient economy and a still-constructive earnings outlook, according to Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“We believe the S&P 500 is carving out a low and think it makes sense to start adding length in cyclical and quality growth trades where earnings remain strong, valuation has compressed, and sentiment is negative,” said Michael Wilson at Morgan Stanley.
Systematic investors are poised to flip back into equity-buying mode after slashing their exposure to multi-year lows during the recent market selloff, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk.
Corporate News:
* A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. private credit fund said investors sought to pull just under 5% of their cash in the first quarter, narrowly escaping a broader exodus that has forced peers to cap withdrawals.
* Oracle Corp. named Schneider Electric SE executive Hilary Maxson as its chief financial officer to help the company navigate massive data center development plans and an accompanying cash crunch.
* AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. saw a surge in ticket sales and concessions over the long Easter weekend, buoyed by The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
* Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. agreed to buy Soleno Therapeutics Inc. for $2.9 billion to gain access to a drug for a rare disorder that causes patients to have insatiable appetites.
* Madison Air Solutions Corp. is seeking to raise as much as $2.23 billion in its initial public offering, in what would be the biggest US listing of an industrial company in close to three decades.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“Traders are largely shrugging off Trump’s ultimatums for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, given their underwhelming track record so far.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live. For the
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1542
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3235
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.70 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3% to $69,665.23
* Ether rose 3.6% to $2,142.05
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.34%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.99%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.83%
Commodity
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $112.31 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $4,655.04 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
Ase ever,
Carolann
Magical things wait patiently for your senses to sharpen. –W.B. Yeats, 1865-1939.
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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828