Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Monday.
August 31, 1896: Gold discovered, Klondike.
August 31, 1957: The Federation of Malaya gains independence from British rule. Six years later, Malaya joins Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia.
August 31, 1997: Britain’s Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris at age 36. Go to article.
Maria Montessori, educator, b. 1870.
Richard Gere, actor, b.1949.
Debbie Gibson, singer, b. 1970.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY
London, UK
Costumed drummers performing as part of the adults’ parade during the Notting Hill carnival, Europe’s largest street festival
Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA
Competitors run across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Sydney Marathon on 30 August.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
Panama City, Panama
A traditional dance during the Casco Peatonal celebrations in Panama City’s Casco Viejo, which transforms the historic district of Panama’s capital into a pedestrian zone every last Sunday of the month
Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for August 31st, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
53185.90 | -374.09 |
| -0.70% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7686.14 | -25.62 |
| -0.33% | ||
| NASDAQ | 26370.89 | -31.53 |
| -0.12% | ||
| TSX | 36270.48 | -283.44
-0.78% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 66311.93 | -93.63 |
| -0.14% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25566.99 | -17.80 |
| -0.07% | ||
| SEN SEX | 76957.27 | -307.24 |
| -0.40% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10824.26 | +31.72 |
| +0.29% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.738 | 3.724 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
4.144 | 4.132 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.7500 | 4.7180 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
5.2423 | 5.2056 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7216 | 0.7193 |
| US $ |
1.3857 | 1.3902 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6214 | 1.6092 |
| US $ |
0.8611 | 1.1613 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4445.91 | 4455.11 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 85.76 | 83.40 |
Market Commentary:
On this day in 1998, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 512.61 points, its second-worst point drop ever (but not even in the top 20 losses by percentage). The front page of the New York Post screamed: “KISS YOUR ASSETS GOODBYE!” By year-end, the Dow was 21.8% higher.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.8%, or 283.44 to 36,270.48 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest loss since Aug. 18.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.8%.
Bombardier Inc. had the largest drop, falling 6.0%.
Today, 138 of 217 shares fell, while 76 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 3%
* The index advanced 27% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.2% below its 52-week high on Aug. 26, 2026 and 27.8% above its low on Sept. 2, 2025
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 1.2% in the past 5 days and rose 3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.1 on a trailing basis and 17.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.76t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.63% compared with 10.70% in the previous session and the average of 10.45% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | -119.6083| -1.7| 8/51
Financials | -90.0009| -0.7| 3/20
Information Technology| -74.3489| -2.5| 2/7
Industrials | -46.9769| -1.3| 12/18
Consumer Discretionary| -6.6823| -0.6| 1/7
Real Estate | -6.1944| -1.4| 2/15
Health Care | -0.4805| -0.4| 1/4
Consumer Staples | 0.1862| 0.0| 5/5
Utilities | 0.8551| 0.1| 7/6
Communication Services| 0.9854| 0.2| 3/2
Energy | 58.8288| 1.0| 32/3
Shopify | -69.6100| -3.8| -3.8| -7.6
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | -19.6900| -1.9| 93.3| 20.8
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -14.9200| -1.8| 37.6| 27.1
Nutrien | 7.6080| 2.2| 132.5| 23.4
Suncor | 13.5600| 1.8| 30.0| 52.2
Canadian Natural Resources | 19.7200| 2.0| -7.8| 49.5
MT Newswires:
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed lower for the second straight session on Monday as declines in base metals and industrial stocks outweighed gains in energy.
Investors weighed renewed US-Iran tensions and concerns around higher US tariffs on the Canadian economy.
The index closed down 283.44 points, or 0.8%, at 36,270.48.
Base Metals led decliners, down 1.7%.
Industrials and Information Technology were down 1.3% each.
Energy rose 1.4%.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude jumped as renewed hostilities between the US and Iran heightened concerns over potential disruptions to oil supplies from the Middle East.
The latest exchange of strikes brought fresh attention to shipping risks around the Strait of Hormuz and supported oil prices.
October WTI crude oil contract settled up $2.36, or 2.8%, at $85.76 per barrel, while October Brent oil was last seen up $2.28, or 2.6%, at $90.38 per barrel.
Meanwhile, December Comex gold futures shed 0.8%, or $33.50, to $4,496.40 per ounce at last look.
In currencies, the US dollar edged lower 0.3% against the Canadian dollar to 1.3858 at last look.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, Canada’s economic recovery was expected to lose momentum but remain on track as higher US tariffs weigh on growth, according to KPMG Canada.
A permanent increase in the US tariff rate to 7% could lower Canada’s gross domestic product by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points next year, slowing 2027 growth to 1.5% to 1.7% from around 2%, KPMG Canada said in a note.
The latest US tariffs are expected to have a modest impact on the Canadian labor market, reducing employment by 5,000 to 15,000 jobs, it added.
Looking ahead, Canada’s July trade data that is due Thursday is expected to show a temporary boost to exports from front-loading ahead of new US tariffs, according to RBC Economics.
The tariffs announced July 20 and effective Aug. 22, likely prompted US importers to increase purchases of Canadian goods before they took effect.
RBC expects Canada’s trade surplus to widen to C$4.2 billion in July from C$3.9 billion in June, with exports forecast to edge up 0.1% on stronger vehicle shipments and imports to decline 0.3%.
However, Canada should keep the door open to renewed trade talks with the US despite the latest negotiating setback, as an escalating trade war would pose increasing challenges for the Canadian economy, according to CIBC Economics.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A flare-up in geopolitical risks sent stocks and bonds lower as oil climbed, raising concerns about inflationary pressures that could make the Federal Reserve raise interest rates.
Escalating tensions in the Middle East drove US crude near $86, with higher energy costs lifting Treasury 10-year yields to the highest since January 2025.
The S&P 500 trimmed its August advance.
The US and Iran exchanged strikes for the first time in about a month as American forces hit an island in the Strait of Hormuz and the Islamic Republic responded by launching attacks on the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Fresh hostilities dashed hopes for a Hormuz traffic normalization, with elevated oil prices reinforcing bets on higher rates after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated a commitment to bring down inflation.
While much hinges on employment and inflation figures, money markets see a hike as more likely than not in September.
“With traders tracking geopolitical volatility as well as potential seasonal volatility, it will be interesting to see which market impulse from last week might carry over to this week,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
“Unexpectedly strong labor-market data might be taken as bad news by the market, since it could reinforce expectations for a rate hike.”
The August US payrolls data is expected to be consistent with general steadiness in the labor market that’s helping the Fed focus more intently on its battle with inflation.
Friday’s jobs report “will be critical,” with data on consumer prices, due on Sept. 11, being the more important of the two prints, given Warsh’s view that US is at full employment, said JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Andrew Tyler.
He’s shifted to a “tactically cautious” view on US stocks for the next few weeks but expects a strong backdrop will persist amid economic data and earnings.
On Tuesday, the calendar flips to a historically tough month for equities.
While the S&P 500 bucked the seasonal trend in the past two years, the index has lost 0.8% on average in Septembers over the past three decades, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
That makes it the worst month of the year and in stark contrast to an average 0.9% gain for the other 11 months.
“Ugh, here comes September,” said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise.
“September has historically delivered the calendar’s largest single-month drops when other market dynamics are going south, but roughly flat-to-positive outcomes when market and economic conditions are more normal.”
That makes September seasonality weakness a risk to be aware of in the context of other market dynamics, but not necessarily month investors want to consistently avoid stocks, he added.
Corporate Highlights:
* Nvidia Corp. is investing $3.5 billion in MediaTek Inc., deepening collaboration with the Taiwanese chipmaker at a time when it’s working to persuade more companies to build chips that plug into its dominant data center ecosystem.
* The US Federal Trade Commission and 22 US states sued Amazon.com Inc. over claims the e-commerce giant systematically overcharged advertisers for years.
* California’s new bill to revamp the state’s wildfire response rejected Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts to protect utilities from insurance claims arising from such disasters, sparking a rout in PG&E Corp. and Edison International shares.
* Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and Cboe Global Markets Inc. fell on a news report that Hyperliquid Labs is in advanced talks to bring its perpetual futures to US traders through Kraken’s parent company Payward.
* SLB Ltd. agreed to acquire German cooling equipment maker Kelvion Inc. from investors including Apollo Global Management Inc. for $3.4 billion in cash, deepening its push into data center services.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Higher yields are scary for stocks, but history helps ease some of that anxiety. The 4% to 5% yield range we’re seeing now has typically been associated with strong equity performance.”
—Tatiana Darie, Macro Strategist, Markets Live
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1617
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3550
* The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 159.74 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $78,957.84
* Ether fell 0.4% to $2,481.01
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.76%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 3.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 5.06%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.1% to $85.95 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
Have a lovely evening.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
It is totally unproductive to think the world has been unfair to you. Every tough stretch is an opportunity. –Charlie Munger, 1924-2023.
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