Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
Old New Year’s Day was on this date until 1751.
March 25, 2001 Apple Computer Inc.’s operating system Mac OS X went on sale.  Go to article >>
March 25, 1995: Ward Cunningham introduces the world’s first wiki, or user-editable website (WikiWikiWeb).  Today, Wikipedia is the world’s most well known and widely used wiki.

Elton John, b. 1947.
Aretha Franklin, b.1942.
Sarah Jessica Parker, b. 1965.

4,300-year-old Egyptian tomb with stunning wall paintings was burial place of priestess and royal official
The ancient Egyptian tomb has colorful wall paintings depicting what life was like 4,300 years ago. Read More

James Webb telescope to zoom in on Uranus and Saturn in study of mysterious auroras
Two projects using the James Webb Space Telescope will look at the auroras of Uranus and Saturn to discover what processes make them tick. Read More.

‘We don’t yet have the know-how to properly maintain a corpse brain’: Why cryonics is a non-starter in our quest for immortality
In a new book, renowned biologist Venki Ramakrishnan explores the reasons why we die, and discusses unproven ways people hope to cheat death, such as cryogenics. Read More.

‘White hat hackers’ carjacked a Tesla using cheap, legal hardware — exposing major security flaws in the vehicle
Security researchers used a $169 Flipper Zero device and a Wi-Fi development board to obtain a driver’s credentials, break into a Tesla Model 3 and drive away. Read More.

Paris waiters compete in race, trays in hand
Some 200 waiters raced through the streets of Paris to see who could be first to get a coffee and croissant across the capital! Watch this video to see their impressive balancing skills.

Record-breaking American teen wins first World Figure Skating title
At only 19 years old, Ilia Malinin landed a quadruple axel at the World Figure Skating Championship. This skill is often attempted — but never accomplished — by skating greats.
Carnival Cruise ship catches fire while at sea
Traveling can be a wonderful, relaxing experience … but it can also be unpredictable. See what happened after a Carnival cruise ship caught fire Saturday in the middle of its voyage.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Duhok, Iraq
Storks perch on their nest on the top of an electricity pylon
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Washington, US
The cherry tree nicknamed ‘Stumpy’ stands in high- tide water at the Tidal Basin. The National Park Service announced it would begin to cut down more than 140 cherry trees around the basin and West Potomac Park in anticipation of construction for an upgraded sea wall to guard against flooding
Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Singapore
A plane flies past the rising full moon, known as a worm moon
Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 25^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39313.64	-162.26
		-0.41%
S&P 500	5218.19	-15.99
		-0.31%
NASDAQ	16384.47	-44.35
		-0.27%
TSX	21942.28	-41.80
		-0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40414.12	-474.31
		-1.16%
HANG SENG	16473.64	-25.83
		-0.16%
SENSEX	72831.94	+190.75
		+0.26%
FTSE 100*	7917.57	-13.35
		-0.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.489	3.438
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.409	3.364
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2454	4.1981
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4154	4.3779

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7361	0.7363
US $	1.3585	1.3582

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4722	0.6793
US $	1.0837	0.9228

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2171.60	2170.50
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.84	81.04

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1809, the nation’s first notable bank failure was reported. The Farmers Exchange Bank of Glocester, R.I., went bust after issuing $800,000 in fraudulent loans against total capital of $45.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.2%, or 41.8 to 21,942.28 in Toronto.
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.3%.
Tilray Brands Inc. had the largest drop, falling 7.3%.
Today, 131 of 224 shares fell, while 91 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.7%
* This month, the index rose 2.7%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.1% below its 52-week high on March 21, 2024 and 17.4% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5% in the past 5 days and rose 2.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 15.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.48t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.64% compared with 11.60% in the previous session and the average of 11.82% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | -40.3137| -1.3| 6/21
Financials | -14.6047| -0.2| 4/22
Information Technology | -12.1268| -0.6| 1/9
Utilities | -8.2004| -1.0| 3/12
Consumer Discretionary | -7.3294| -0.9| 2/11
Communication Services | -3.3500| -0.5| 2/3
Real Estate | -2.1144| -0.4| 7/13
Health Care | -1.6027| -2.3| 0/4
Consumer Staples | -0.1442| 0.0| 4/7
Materials | 0.2853| 0.0| 29/21
Energy | 47.6994| 1.2| 33/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -18.2500| -2.3| 40.6| 13.2
Canadian National | -12.0800| -1.7| -33.5| 5.8
Brookfield Corp | -5.6990| -1.0| -57.8| 5.9
Enbridge | 8.4710| 1.2| -52.3| 2.3
Suncor Energy | 9.9240| 2.3| 22.1| 17.7
Canadian Natural Resources | 16.2000| 2.1| -41.2| 18.6
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stock traders decided to take some chips off the table at the start of a week that will bring the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure — on a day when markets will be closed.
Equities pulled back after a rally that drove the S&P 500 to multiple records, spurring speculation the market has gone too far, too fast.
Investors also took a cautious stance on bets the personal consumption expenditures price index — due on Good Friday — will show inflation probably remained uncomfortably high.
On that same day, Jerome Powell is due to speak.
A sense of prudence also prevailed as concern about a disconnect between earnings expectations and share prices have grown.
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists were the latest to warn it’ll be hard to justify lofty valuations if profit acceleration fails to materialize.
“We continue to see sentiment as stretched and think a US equity market pullback is overdue,” said Lori Calvasina at RBC Capital Markets.
The S&P 500 fell below 5,220. Intel Corp. slipped on a news report China is limiting the use of foreign chips.
Boeing Co. climbed after announcing that its chief will step down.
Treasury 10-year yields rose five basis points to 4.25%. Bitcoin topped $70,000.
In a sign of how overheated the stock market has been, the S&P 500 finished last week 14% above its 200-day moving average.
“That’s quite stretched historically,” said Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG.
“The big question is: do we get a correction through time, or price. The latter has been elusive for the last five months, but we do think there is a window here for some modest price weakness.”
Last week also saw the most amount of S&P 500’s 52-week highs in nearly three years, according to Krinsky.
“While this rarely marks a final high, the near-term returns are much more mixed than you might imagine, with similar surges happening prior to large drawdowns in ‘18 and ‘20, while also amidst strong uptrends during ‘17, ‘20, and ‘21,” Krinsky noted.
Concerns about a near-term overbought market have surfaced at a time when consensus earnings estimates have been revised lower.
Analysts currently expect earnings-per-share to grow about 9% this year versus 11% at the start of November, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
“The stock market faces its next test in a few weeks when earnings season begins in mid-April,” said Clark Bellin at Bellwether Wealth. “Stock prices and valuations are elevated heading into this next earnings season, which leaves little room for disappointment if companies fail to deliver strong earnings.”
Investors looking to put new money to work in the market should wait for a pullback, Bellin added.
“The market already had a few minor pullbacks so far this year,” Bellin also noted. “They were shallow and quick, but they proved to be good buying opportunities.”
The combination of healthy US economic data, expectations the Fed will cut rates and optimism about artificial intelligence have all driven the S&P 500 up almost 10% this year — leaving many year-end forecasts in the dust.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists are sticking with their year-end prediction of 5,200 — but have a scenario in which tech mega-caps lead the index up to 6,000.
“Although AI optimism appears high, long-term growth expectations and valuations for the largest TMT stocks are still far from ‘bubble’ territory,” the strategists led by David Kostin wrote.
The pro-risk mood among equity investors is likely to spread beyond the mega-cap technology names that have comprised much of the stock market’s returns into other sectors, according to strategists at BlackRock’s Investment Institute.
Strong corporate earnings, economic resilience in the face of higher interest rates and “prospects for innovation” have prompted Oppenheimer Asset Management’s John Stoltzfus to raise his year-end target on the S&P 500 to 5,500 — joining Société Generale for the highest forecast on Wall Street.
“The big surprise this year has not been so much the resilience of the economy, but rather the substantial capitulation among the bears and bearish community,” Stoltzfus said. Profit taking, particularly in Big Tech, is expected and
normal — and any near-term volatility is opportunity to “catch babies that get thrown out with the bath water,” he noted.

Corporate Highlights:
* Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. face the risk of potentially hefty fines as the European Union opened a full-blown investigation into the firms’ compliance with strict new laws reining in the power of Big Tech.
* Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s tumbled on fears of a possible delay to the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI video game.
* US aviation authorities are considering drastic measures to curb growth at United Airlines Holdings Inc., including preventing the carrier from adding new routes, following a series of safety incidents.
* Lucid Group Inc. is getting a $1 billion cash injection from its biggest investor, an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, providing the troubled electric carmaker with a needed lifeline.
* Manulife Financial Corp. has struck another deal to offload some of its less-profitable assets, agreeing to reinsure C$5.8 billion ($4.3 billion) of Canadian policies with RGA Life Reinsurance Co. of Canada.
* Match Group Inc., the owner of dating apps Tinder and Hinge, named two directors to its board following discussions with activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
* Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to buy Cardior Pharmaceuticals for up to €1 billion ($1.1 billion) as the Danish maker of weight-loss drugs continues to expand into treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Key events this week:
* ECB chief economist Philip Lane participates in event in Dublin, Tuesday
* US durable goods, Conference Board consumer confidence, Tuesday
* China industrial profits, Wednesday
* Bank of England issues financial policy committee minutes, Wednesday
* Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Wednesday
* Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks, Wednesday
* UK GDP revision, Thursday
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, initial jobless claims, GDP, Thursday
* Japan unemployment, Tokyo CPI, industrial production, retail sales, Friday
* US personal income and spending, PCE deflator, Friday
* Good Friday. Exchanges closed in US and many other countries in observance of holiday. US federal government is open.
* San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Friday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks, Friday

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 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0839
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2638
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 151.45 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 7.4% to $71,058.63
* Ether rose 6.7% to $3,642.43
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 4.25%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.37%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 3.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $81.95 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,171.30 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Farah Elbahrawy and Isabelle Lee.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Perhaps someday it will be pleasant to remember even this. –Virgil, 70 BC-19 BC.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday.
United Nations World Day for Water.
March 22, 1945: Arab League formed.
March 22, 1960: The laser is patented by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.
March 22, 1972: Congress sent the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to the states for ratification.

George Benson, b.1943.

Pig kidney transplanted into human patient for 1st time ever
Doctors in Boston performed the first pig kidney transplant on a 62-year-old living patient in a medical milestone that could help address the critical shortage of human organs. Read More.

Iceland volcano: Gigantic plume of toxic gas from latest eruption is moving across Europe, satellite data shows
A massive column of sulfur dioxide that was pumped out by the erupting volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula is currently traveling across northern Europe. Scientists are concerned it could impact
the ozone layer.  Read More.

Overlooked Apollo data from the 1970s reveals huge record of ‘hidden’ moonquakes
A reanalysis of 50-year-old Apollo mission data long abandoned by NASA has revealed 22,000 previously unrecognized moonquakes, almost tripling the known number of seismic lunar events. Read More.

Workout in a pill: Scientists move one step closer to an exercise-mimicking drug
Scientists are in the early days of creating a drug that can mimic cellular benefits of exercise for people unable to engage in physical activity. Read More.

Elusive form of carbon tougher than diamonds created in supercomputer simulation for 1st time ever
A simulated form of carbon called BC8, or ‘super-diamond’, could be 30% tougher than normal diamonds, but synthesizing it on Earth won’t be easy. Read More.

Warner Bros. Pictures releases ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ trailer
We now have the first look at the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 Tim Burton classic starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. (Like CNN, Warner Bros. Pictures is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

No. 3 seed Kentucky stunned by No. 14 seed Oakland in men’s NCAA tournament
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are advancing to the second round for the first time in history.

Emmanuel Macron shows off his boxing skills
Photos of French President Emmanuel Macron hitting a boxing bag have sparked mixed reactions.

Newly identified fossil named after Kermit the Frog could help solve evolutionary puzzle
Paleontologists have discovered a previously unknown ancient species: Kermitops — an amphibian that predates the dinosaurs and reveals the complexity of frog evolution.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Wild horses on the Eynif Plateau, which covers about 90,000 in Antalya, Turkey
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

A parakeet feeds on cherry blossom in Battersea Park in London, UK on the first offical day of spring
Photograph: Alister Gooding/pictureexclusive.com

​​​​​​​Teotihuacán, Mexico
Hot-air balloons fly over the pyramids during the spring equinox celebration
Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 22^nd, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39475.90	-305.47
		-0.77%
S&P 500	5234.18	-7.35
		-0.14%
NASDAQ	16428.82	+26.98
		+0.16%
TSX	21984.08	-103.18
		-0.47%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40888.43	+72.77
		+0.18%
HANG SENG	16499.47	-363.63
		-2.16%
SENSEX	72831.94	+190.75
		+0.26%
FTSE 100*	7930.92	+48.37
		+0.61%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.438	3.516
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.364	3.431
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1981	4.2669
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3779	4.4347

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7363	0.7393
US $	1.3582	1.3526

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4753	0.6778
US $	1.0862	0.9206

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2170.50	2157.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.04	81.54

Market Commentary:

📈 On this day in 1811, New York passed the world’s first law giving common stockholders limited liability. The measure shielded investors from losing more than their initial investment.

Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5% at 21,984.08 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.6% on March 14 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.9%.
Osisko Mining Inc. had the largest drop, falling 4.9%.
Today, 154 of 224 shares fell, while 66 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.9%
* This month, the index rose 2.9%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.6%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 32% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1% below its 52-week high on March 21, 2024 and 17.6% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 15.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.49t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.60% compared with 11.46% in the previous session and the average of 11.88% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -42.7707| -0.6| 5/22
Materials | -22.6521| -1.0| 10/38
Information Technology | -18.2996| -0.9| 2/8
Communication Services | -10.9908| -1.5| 0/5
Consumer Discretionary | -9.9422| -1.3| 1/12
Real Estate | -7.2571| -1.4| 1/20
Utilities | -0.7965| -0.1| 7/8
Consumer Staples | 1.7917| 0.2| 3/8
Industrials | 2.4275| 0.1| 17/10
Health Care | 2.6374| 3.9| 2/2
Energy | 2.6713| 0.1| 18/21
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -12.4900| -0.9| -35.0| 0.9
Power of Canada | -7.0520| -4.6| 334.2| 0.2
Constellation Software | -6.2160| -1.2| -38.2| 14.2
Loblaw | 2.5410| 1.7| -6.1| 19.1
Tilray Brands | 2.7000| 19.8| 466.8| 2.9
Cameco | 3.3390| 1.9| -53.7| 2.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The rally in stocks lost traction Friday, with the market still notching its best week in 2024 amid speculation the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest rates as soon as June.
US equities wavered after a record-breaking run that drove the S&P 500 up about 10% this year.
In an almost broad-based weekly advance, the gauge climbed more than 2% in the span.
The market resilience has left strategists scrambling to update their targets, while spurring calls for a consolidation or a pullback.
“With some sentiment and positioning indicators looking elevated, we would not be surprised to see a modest pullback in the coming months,” said David Lefkowitz at UBS Global Wealth Management. “That could offer investors a better opportunity to add to equity positions.”
In the absence of economic data, traders kept an eye on Fed speak.
Jerome Powell’s remarks during a “Fed Listens” event didn’t include monetary policy.
Michael Barr, the Fed’s vice chair for supervision, said there will likely be significant changes to a proposal to force lenders to hold more capital.
The S&P 500 closed below 5,235. Nvidia Corp. extended gains into an 11th straight week. FedEx Corp. — an economic barometer — surged on solid earnings and a $5 billion buyback plan.
Nike Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc. dropped on weak outlooks.
Treasury 10-year yields slipped six basis points to 4.21%.
The dollar approached its highest level this year.
While a relative sense of calm prevailed at the end of the week, American stocks saw hefty outflows in the run-up the highly anticipated Fed policy meeting.
US equity funds suffered redemptions of about $22 billion in the week through Wednesday — the biggest since December 2022, according to a note from Bank of America Corp., citing EPFR Global data.
The trend was also a sharp turnaround from the previous week, when stocks had attracted record inflows.
Following the Fed decision, stocks were swept up in rally driven by the perception that the central bank wasn’t as hawkish as feared.
Policymakers kept their forecast for three rate cuts this year, and Chair Powell didn’t seem overly concerned about the recent uptick in inflation.
Yet examining Fed rate cycles since the 1970s has revealed that, in general, investors have more to fear from the first rate cut in a cycle than a pause, according to Ryan Grabinski at Strategas Securities.
On average, the S&P 500 is up more than 5% over 100 days between the last Fed tightening and the first rate cut, he noted.
However, the trough in the broader market exceeds a 23% drop over 200 days after the first rate cut in a series.
Despite still elevated rates, the recent round of housing, manufacturing and labor-market data pointed to a resilient economy.
“Six months ago, investors were largely pessimistic, with ‘good news being treated as bad news’ and ‘bad news treated as bad news’,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide. “The pendulum has shifted almost completely, with strong data being viewed as a sign of a ‘soft landing’ — while sluggish data reinforces the
belief that the Federal Reserve will cut rates.”
This has driven impressive momentum in the market, Hackett noted. The technicals underlying the recent stock rally were impressive — with more than three-quarters of the S&P 500 above the 200-day moving average — the best level since 2021, he noted.
One of few Wall Street forecasters who correctly predicted last year’s stock market rally finds himself in a contrarian position once again.
But this time, Brian Belski thinks equities are set up for a plunge — just as many of his peers are turning bullish.
A correction is imminent after stocks have run up too far, too fast on false optimism over how soon the Fed will dial back interest rates, the BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist and long-time bull said in an interview.
Bill Gross, the one-time bond king, warned that investors are in for a bumpy ride as “excessive exuberance” sweeps financial markets.
“It tells me that fiscal deficit spending and AI enthusiasm have been overriding factors, and momentum and ‘irrational’ exuberance have dominated markets since 2022,” Gross, the co-founder and former chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., wrote in his latest investment outlook. “Buckle up for excessive exuberance.”
Meantime, HSBC strategists were the latest on Wall Street to say that equities aren’t in a bubble despite the sharp rally since last year.
The team led by Max Kettner raises its view on US stocks to “tactically overweight” from “neutral.”
“Re-accelerating inflation is a risk, but the key here is when central banks and markets will really start to care,” they said. “We’re still quite some way away from that.”
Equity valuations outside the US are relatively more attractive following a recent rally in technology mega-caps, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategist Peter Oppenheimer.
“We think technology is still going to be crucially important and do well, but as interest rates come down and we get this soft landing, the opportunity for broadening out into some more cyclical parts of the market is improving,”
Oppenheimer told Bloomberg Television.
“US equities remain in an uptrend, but still vulnerable to potential consolidation/correction ahead in our opinion,” according to Dan Wantrobski at Janney Montgomery Scott.
“Momentum is pushing several areas (not just mega-cap leadership) into overbought/extended territory on a short-term basis — which is what continues to concern us from a technical perspective.”
Still, overall market breadth continues to expand, he added, citing the fact that the cumulative advance-decline line for New York Stock Exchange shares is now close to breaking new all-time highs.
“This is an important metric to watch as it indicates the markets are no longer being carried by just a few names (like the Mag 7, for example), but are starting to fire on all cylinders across multiple market caps and sectors, Wantrobski said.

Corporate Highlights:
* Tesla Inc. has reduced production at its plant in China, according to people familiar with the matter, amid sluggish growth in electric-vehicle sales and intense competition in the world’s biggest auto market.
* Nike Inc. warned that sales will take a hit as it responds to a growing challenge from upstart running-shoe brands like On and Hoka that have exposed the US sporting-goods company’s reliance on classic basketball models such as the Air Force 1.
* FedEx Corp. topped Wall Street’s third-quarter profit expectations and announced a new $5 billion share buyback plan as the courier said it’s seeing results from a plan to cut costs and boost margins.
* Lululemon Athletica Inc. reported a slowdown in its US business and lower-than-expected outlooks for the first quarter and full year.
* Grifols SA sank as investors evaluated a regulatory review of the Spanish bio-science company’s financial reports, which found “relevant deficiencies” but no major accounting mistakes.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.0806
* The British pound fell 0.5% to $1.2594
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 151.44 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.4% to $63,888.13
* Ether fell 4.1% to $3,342.24
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 4.21%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined eight basis points to 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 3.93%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $80.79 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to $2,163.66 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Sagarika Jaisinghani, Ye Xie and Alexandra Semenova.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. –Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

March 21, 1965: Selma, Alabama civil rights march.
March 21, 2006: Jack Dorsey sends the world’s first Twitter tweet.

Johann Sebastian Bach, b. 1685.
Matthew Broderick, b.1962.
Rosie O’Donnell, b.1962.

AI-powered humanoid robot can serve you food, stack the dishes and have a conversation with you
Figure 01 learned how to make coffee by watching a human do it, and now it can speak to you like a person.  Read More

Obsidian blades with food traces reveal 1st settlers of Rapa Nui had regular contact with South Americans 1,000 years ago
The earliest settlers of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, appear to have had some sort of contact with people from South America as early as 1,000 years ago, a new plant study finds.  Read More.

Researchers gave AI an ‘inner monologue’ and it massively improved its performance
Scientists trained an AI system to think before speaking with a technique called QuietSTaR. The inner monologue improved common sense reasoning and doubled math performance. Read More.

Triassic ‘tank’ unearthed in Texas was a croc cousin that lived 215 million years ago
Fossil discovered in 1989 found to be new species of aetosaur, a massive armored crocodile cousin that lived during the late Triassic. Read More.

‘Little rascals:’ Group of boys in custody for Texas bank robbery
A group of suspected bank robbers the FBI referred to as the “little rascals” is now in custody — and one of them is only 11 years old.

India is a hiker’s dream destination
Take a look at some of the country’s most epic trails.
Reddit is finally going public
It has been years since a social media company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. Read why Reddit is going public more than a decade after many of its peers.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

London, UK
Mia Babic poses during a photo call for the Sounds of Blossom festival at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. The festival runs from Saturday 23 March to Sunday 14 April
Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

California, US
People take photos in a field of wildflowers in Anza-Borrego desert state park
Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters

​​​​​​​Grindavik, Iceland
Lava from a volcanic eruption flows near the town
Photograph: Marco di Marco/AP
Market Closes for March 21^st, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39781.37	+269.24
		+0.68%
S&P 500	5241.53	+16.91
		+0.32%
NASDAQ	16401.84	+32.43
		+0.20%
TSX	22087.26	+41.55
		+0.19%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40815.66	+812.06
		+2.03%
HANG SENG	16863.10	+320.03
		+1.93%
SENSEX	72641.19	+539.50
		+0.75%
FTSE 100*	7882.55	+145.17
		+1.88%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.516	3.490
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.431	3.412
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2669	4.2728
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4347	4.4532

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7393	0.7421
US $	1.3526	1.3475

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4694	0.6805
US $	1.0862	0.9206

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2157.45	2154.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.54	83.47

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1924, the Massachusetts Investors Trust, the first open-end mutual fund, was founded in Boston by a former cookware salesman and two investment bankers. The minimum initial purchase of five shares cost $262.50, or $2.50 less than a new Ford Model T runabout.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.2%, or 41.55 to 22,087.26 in Toronto.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.9%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.2%.
Today, 118 of 224 shares rose, while 103 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5.4%
* This month, the index rose 3.4%
* So far this week, the index rose 1.1%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Feb. 16
* The index advanced 12% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period * The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 18.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.2% in the past 5 days and rose 4.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 15.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.5t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.46% compared with 11.53% in the previous session and the average of 11.91% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 42.3748| 0.6| 20/7
Industrials | 18.5548| 0.6| 14/12
Energy | 12.4760| 0.3| 23/17
Utilities | 3.2600| 0.4| 10/5
Real Estate | 3.0245| 0.6| 15/6
Health Care | -0.2078| -0.3| 2/2
Consumer Discretionary | -0.7180| -0.1| 5/7
Materials | -1.7516| -0.1| 17/33
Communication Services | -4.7314| -0.7| 1/4
Information Technology | -13.4779| -0.7| 7/3
Consumer Staples | -17.2455| -1.9| 4/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | 11.5100| 0.9| 48.1| 1.9
Canadian National | 7.5940| 1.1| -14.2| 7.9
Canadian Natural Resources | 7.2020| 1.0| -56.0| 15.7
CGI Inc | -7.1710| -3.1| 88.6| 8.9
Shopify | -16.9700| -1.8| -20.3| 4.4
Couche-Tard | -17.5200| -4.2| 189.3| 0.1
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The relentless rally in stocks powered ahead on optimism the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer a soft landing, which would bolster the outlook for corporate earnings.
A fresh bout of risk-taking drove the S&P 500 to its 20^th record this year, led by gains in industrials and banks.
Not even losses in a pair of mega-caps — Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. — curbed the market momentum.
The Nasdaq 100 also hit an all-time high, buoyed by Micron Technology Inc.’s outlook.
Reddit Inc. soared in its debut.
The latest round of housing, manufacturing and labor-market data pointed to a resilient economy that, in theory, would scare policymakers trying to bring inflation back to target.
A day after the Fed signaled it’s on track to cut rates this year, traders decided to keep looking at the glass half full.
“For now, the soft-landing thesis is intact, with leading indicators showing nascent signs of trending more positively,” said Jim Baird at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.
The S&P 500 topped 5,240. Small caps extended this week’s gains. Treasury 10-year yields were little changed at 4.27%.
Across the Atlantic, the British pound fell after a pair of Bank of England’s hawks dropped their push for hikes.
And a surprise decision from the Swiss National Bank to cut rates also pushed the Swiss franc lower.
To Max Kettner at HSBC, it should not be surprising that risk assets continue to be on a tear.
“The rate-hike cycle of 2022 and 2023 has done little to impact the broader US economy negatively,” he noted.
As for the future trajectory of the Fed, he says it’s a binary question.
“Either they cut or they don’t,” he noted.
With Fed Chair Jerome Powell making it fairly clear that the next move will be down, “it seems more a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’  That seems to be good enough for risk assets.”
Looking at previous periods when the Fed was on hold, the current pause ranks second in terms of duration, according to an analysis from Ryan Grabinski at Strategas Securities, through March 20.
“The good news is that the longer they hold, the more the market has historically moved higher,” he noted.
In periods where the pause is greater than 100 days, the market is up on average 13%, Grabinski said.
The best performance occurred during the 2006-2007 pause — which was also the longest and resulted in the S&P 500 rising 22%.
The equity rally has also left forecasters scrambling to lift their end-2024 targets for the S&P 500 just three months into the year.
The gauge is already trading above the average estimate of strategists tracked by Bloomberg.
There’s no stopping to the rally in US stocks against a backdrop of improving outlook for corporate earnings and the frenzy around artificial intelligence, according to Societe Generale SA strategists.
The team led by Manish Kabra boosted its year-end target for the benchmark gauge to 5,500 from 4,750 — the highest forecast among strategists tracked by Bloomberg.
“US exceptionalism is going from strength to strength,” Kabra wrote. “Despite widespread market optimism, we view this as rational rather than excessive.”
The latest report from GMO Asset Allocation’s team shows the firm’s continued optimism despite the fact that equity indexes are sitting at all-time highs.
“We are extremely excited about the investing landscape,” it said. “An abundance of cheap assets underpins this enthusiasm from an absolute return standpoint, while appealing valuation spreads within asset classes present us with the best relative asset allocation opportunity we’ve seen in 35 years.”
Meantime, rally-chasing investors who rode US equities higher this year have flocked to an upward trend occurring outside of just the so-called Magnificent Seven that have dominated the market: the one taking place in quality stocks.
As traders have been enamored by artificial intelligence, they’ve also piled into stocks of companies across the broader market with high profitability and strong fundamentals, according to Piper Sandler & Co.’s Michael Kantrowitz.
“AI is a subset of what’s driving momentum, but the rest is good old quality fundamental,” Kantrowitz said.
With the stock market making new records, the odds are quickly rising that the “critical juncture” that we’ve been harping on will resolve itself with more upside movement, said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co.
“We still believe that a short-term pullback could take place at any time,” Maley said. “However, if it doesn’t come quickly and sharply — the odds that it will become a full-blown correction will drop.”

Corporate Highlights:
* The US Justice Department and 16 attorneys general sued Apple Inc., accusing the iPhone maker of violating antitrust laws by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features on its popular devices.
* Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are set to face full-blown European Union investigations into their compliance with a new law reining in the power of Big Tech, paving the way for potentially hefty fines.
* Boeing Co. directors plan to meet with top executives from some of their largest airline customers, who are growing increasingly frustrated about the plane-maker’s crisis tearing into their business.
* Nelson Peltz received the backing of an influential shareholder advisory firm and a group of business leaders in his bid to join the board of entertainment company Walt Disney Co.
* Darden Restaurants Inc. is seeing lower-income consumers pull back, Chief Executive Officer Rick Cardenas said, depriving some of the company’s major brands a key revenue stream.
* Gildan Activewear Inc.’s largest investor said the clothing maker’s shares are undervalued, signaling that potential acquirers circling the company may need to pay up to win shareholders’ support.

Key events this week:
* Japan CPI, Friday
* Germany IFO business climate, Friday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Friday
* ECB’s Robert Holzmann and Philip Lane speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.0857
* The British pound fell 1% to $1.2651
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 151.68 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.9% to $65,115.12
* Ether fell 0.7% to $3,437.56
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.27%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.41%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.00%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $81.04 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,181.34 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jessica Menton, Alexandra Semenova and Sagarika Jaisinghani.
Have a lovely evening everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. –Oliver Wendel Holmes, 1809-1894.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: It’s the UN International Day of Happiness today.

These are the world’s happiest countries in 2024
See which country has held onto its top ranking for seven years straight.

March 20, 1602: Dutch East India Company established.
1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin published.
March 20, 1916: Albert Einstein presents his general theory of relativity.  The revolutionary theory describes the interdependency of matter on the one hand and space and time on the other.
On March 20, 1995, in Tokyo, 12 people were killed, more than 5,500 others sickened when packages containing the poisonous gas sarin leaked on five separate subway trains. Go to article >>
Ovid, b. 43 BC.
Henrik Ibsen, b. 1828.

2,000-year-old carvings of celestial bodies and animals discovered on rocky cliffs in Brazil
Archaeologists identified 16 sites with representations of human footprints, animals and celestial bodies. Read More.

Lavish, 800-year-old tombs in China may hold remains of Great Jin dynasty elites.  Three newfound brick tombs date to the Golden Khanate, a non-Chinese people who ruled in northern China centuries ago.
Full Story: Live Science (3/19)

‘This is a journey, not a destination’: Stunning map of the Milky Way’s center exposes new mysteries about our galaxy
A stunning new map of the magnetic fields at the Milky Way’s center charts never-before-seen features, and raises new questions about how our galaxy’s central engine works. Read More.

Brutal footage shows orca mom and son team up to drown another pod’s calf
First of its kind footage captures the moment an orca mom and her son drown a calf in an extremely rare case of infanticide. Read More.

Rumors swirl about the next James Bond
Who will be the next 007? Well, it remains a mystery for now … but some tabloids are saying one actor already has a formal offer on the table.

1,800-year-old Roman statue discovered in a parking lot
Construction workers in the UK have uncovered a marble head that appears to be dated to the 1st century or 2nd century!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

London, UK
A member of a painting crew abseils from the top of the London Eye. The attraction is getting a fresh coat of paint, with an estimated 5,000 litres needed to cover the 135-metre high wheel
Photograph: James Manning/PA Wire

Wellington, South Africa
Pro and amateur cyclists take part in stage 3 of the Absa Cape Epic MTB race. This year, 600 teams will tackle 617km with 16,500m of climbing over eight days
Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA

Olathe, US
A motorist is silhouetted by the setting sun as they drive through an intersection on the first day of spring in the state of Kansas
Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP
Market Closes for March 20^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39512.13	+401.37
		+1.03%
S&P 500	5224.62	+46.11
		+0.89%
NASDAQ	16369.41	+202.62
		+1.25%
TSX	22045.71	+185.13
		+0.85%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40003.60	+263.16
		+0.66%
HANG SENG	16543.07	+13.59
		+0.08%
SENSEX	72101.69	+89.64
		+0.12%
FTSE 100*	7737.38	-0.92
		-0.01%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.490	3.523
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.412	3.420
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2728	4.2925
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4532	4.4415

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7421	0.7372
US $	1.3475	1.3565

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4736	0.6786
US $	1.0937	0.9143

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2154.90	2158.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	83.47	82.72

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1602, the Western world’s first major publicly traded company was born, as the Dutch legislature granted a monopoly on trade to the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Co., which dealt in booming consumer products like cloves, tea, black pepper and Chinese porcelain. In 1609, the company’s directors declared that investors couldn’t sell their shares back to the company, but only to other investors—giving birth to the modern stock market.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.8%, or 185.13 to 22,045.71 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 0.9% on March 7.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.3%.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.0%.
Today, 171 of 224 shares rose, while 50 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 5.2%
* This month, the index rose 3.2%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 32% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 17.9% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and rose 3.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its
members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.47t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.53% compared with 11.34% in the previous session and the average of 11.94% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 54.8490| 2.4| 49/1
Financials | 49.2503| 0.7| 24/3
Information Technology | 48.9783| 2.5| 10/0
Industrials | 18.9942| 0.6| 20/7
Utilities | 6.8947| 0.8| 15/0
Consumer Discretionary | 5.5664| 0.7| 11/2
Communication Services | 4.0219| 0.6| 3/2
Real Estate | 3.6432| 0.7| 14/6
Health Care | 0.2242| 0.3| 2/1
Energy | -3.0609| -0.1| 17/23
Consumer Staples | -4.2320| -0.5| 6/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 38.0000| 4.3| -3.0| 6.3
RBC | 12.5900| 1.0| 1.1| 1.0
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 11.0800| 1.4| -46.8| 15.3
TC Energy | -4.4970| -1.1| 248.5| 4.4
Fairfax Financial | -4.5680| -1.9| -11.2| 24.3
Waste Connections | -6.5390| -1.6| -32.7| 16.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders sent stocks to fresh all-time highs as the Federal Reserve signaled it’s on track to cut interest rates for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
In a historic move, the S&P 500 topped 5,200 on speculation that the end of the most-aggressive Fed hiking cycle in a generation will keep fueling Corporate America’s profits.
Gains in equities were almost broad-based, with areas that have been lagging this year — like small caps — rallying.
Short-term Treasuries outperformed, with traders now seeing higher odds of a first Fed move in June.
Fed officials maintained their outlook for three cuts this year and moved toward slowing the pace of reducing their bond holdings, suggesting they aren’t alarmed by a recent uptick in inflation. While Jerome Powell continued to highlight officials would like to see more evidence that prices are coming down, he also said it will be appropriate to start easing “at some point this year.”
“The sum total of this ‘no news is good news’ press conference is that markets continue to have a green light to run higher,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance.
“This Fed isn’t going to stand in the way of the bull market.”
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%, with Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. pacing a rally in mega-caps.
In late hours, Micron Technology Inc. gave a strong revenue forecast, buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence hardware.
Two-year yields declined seven basis points to 4.6%.
The dollar retreated.

Wall Street’s Reaction to Fed:
* Krishna Guha at Evercore:  No whipsaw this time. Chair Powell’s March press conference maintained and extended the “bullish-dovish message” from the first set of Fed releases.
Big take-away: this is a Fed that wants to cut rates – not before it is responsible to do so — but as soon as it is responsible to do so.
* Peter Boockvar author of The Boock Report:  Jay Powell clearly leaned dovish today as even a strong labor market he said would not stop the beginning of rate cuts.  And this is why the short-end yield fell as it did.
* Sonu Varghese at Carson Group:  The details are quite dovish, because they’re leaving rate cuts on the table even while projecting slightly higher inflation and more economic growth.
* Neil Birrell at Premier Miton Investors:  They want that soft landing and are playing the game to achieve it.
* Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management:  This Summary of Economic Projections suggests that the Fed is willing to risk cutting rates before inflation is close to target and while GDP growth is above-trend. History teaches us
this is a risky path.
* Whitney Watson at Goldman Sachs Asset Management:  Despite recent bumps in the inflation road, major central banks remain on track for rate cuts in the coming months and high-quality fixed income bonds stand to benefit.
*  Michelle Cluver at Global X:  Overall, this was a highly encouraging set of data that fed into markets, increasing the probability that the Fed may lower interest rates as soon as the June FOMC meeting.
* Jason Pride at Glenmede:  Make no mistake about it, the Fed still has inflation firmly in its sights. Investors should expect rate cuts to come into focus once the Fed becomes more confident that inflation is in the neighborhood of its 2% target, which could happen in the back half of this year.
* Christian Hoffmann at Thornburg Investment Management:  Don’t take “data dependent” off of your Fed bingo card just yet. Fixed income will continue to grapple between expectations for lower rates which is good for bonds against more tolerance for inflation which is bad for bonds.”

Corporate Highlights:
* The US will award Intel Corp. $8.5 billion in grants and as much as $11 billion in loans to help fund an expansion of its semiconductor factories, marking the largest award from a program designed to reinvigorate the domestic chip industry.
* Boeing Co. predicted a massive cash drain for the first quarter as regulatory scrutiny and slower output of its 737 Max jetliner following a January mid-air accident take their toll on its finances.
* Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. refuted an earlier report that said it was exploring a sale of its golf-equipment arm, saying it was unaware of any of talks to sell the business.
* Short seller Hindenburg Research targeted data center owner Equinix Inc. Wednesday, alleging that the company manipulates its accounting and is selling an “AI pipe dream.” A representative for Equinix said the firm is investigating the claims.
* Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s board proposed a 50-to-1 stock split to broaden the burrito chain’s investor base after a 13,000% run-up in the stock since its initial public offering.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. unexpectedly lifted its dividend 9.5% in the wake of a record annual profit and as regulators signal they may rethink proposals for tightening capital rules.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* Bank of England rate decision, Thursday
* US Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Nike, FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* Germany IFO business climate, Friday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Friday
* ECB’s Robert Holzmann and Philip Lane speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.9% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.5% to $1.0919
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2781
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 151.24 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.1% to $65,714.01
* Ether rose 2.9% to $3,375.02
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.28%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.43%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.02%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.1% to $81.68 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.2% to $2,183.50 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Before the rain stops we hear a bird.  Even under the heavy snow we see snowdrops and some new growth. –Shunryu Suzuki, 1904-1971.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:  First day of Spring has arrived!

Limericks from today’s Seattle Times:
That morning when birdsong first woke us,
And the garden was blooming in crocus,
It was daylight saving
That gilded the paving
And brought the new season to focus.  — Griffith H. Williams

The days are increasingly bright,
Filling my heart with delight.
Good tidings they bring,
With robins that sing
Farewell to the long winter’s night. — Dave Taflin

There once was a sad looking tree
It looked like a goner to me
But then came spring
And it put forth its bling
And now I am dancing with glee! — Rhonda Bierma

Swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, yearly since 1776.
March 19, 1911: The first International Women’s Day is observed by over 1 million people in several European countries.
March 19, 1918 Congress approved daylight-saving time.  Go to article >>

Wyatt Earp, lawman, b.1848
Glenn Close, actress, b. 1947

Apple is getting serious about AI
Apple researchers say they’ve developed a complex AI system that can interpret and generate different types of data — such as text and images at the same time — called MM1.

4,000-year-old vial contains ancient red lipstick
This small stone vial contained a red cosmetic that was likely used as a lip coloring thousands of years ago, according to archaeologists.

These are the cities with the world’s worst air pollution
All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to a new report. View the top air pollution rankings for 2023.

‘Potentially hazardous’ asteroid Bennu contains the building blocks of life and minerals unseen on Earth, scientists reveal in 1st comprehensive analysis
Scientists shared the first comprehensive science results from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling mission at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, revealing the out-of-this-world makeup
of asteroid Bennu. Read More.

Computing ‘paradigm shift’ could see phones and laptops run twice as fast — without replacing a single component
By letting different processing units — like GPUs, NPUs and hardware accelerators — work in parallel, rather than in sequence, systems can be up to twice as fast and consume 50% less energy. Read More.

Iceland volcano: ‘Most powerful’ eruption yet narrowly misses Grindavik but could still trigger life-threatening toxic gas plume
The submerged volcano in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted for the fourth time in four months. The resulting lava flow narrowly missed Grindavík but could still reach the sea and potentially unleash a toxic gas plume.
Read More.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Xinjiang, China
Tourists enjoy the scenery on the bank of White Sand Lake on Pamir Plateau in Kizilsu Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture
Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images

Stetten, Germany
Fog drifts over a wind energy plant near Stetten, about 12 miles north of Kaiserslautern
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

London, UK
Art handlers pose with the work Sunday Afternoon by LS Lowry at Christie’s auction house. The work has not been publicly displayed for 57 years
Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA
Market Closes for March 19^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39110.76	+320.33
		+0.83%
S&P 500	5178.51	+29.09
		+0.56%
NASDAQ	16166.79	+63.34
		+0.39%
TSX	21860.58	+23.40
		+0.11%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40003.60	+263.16
		+0.66%
HANG SENG	16529.48	-207.64
		-1.24%
SENSEX	72748.42	+104.99
		+0.14%
FTSE 100*	7738.30	+15.75
		+0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.523	3.597
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.420	3.455
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2925	4.3242
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4415	4.4483

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7372	0.7387
US $	1.3565	1.3537

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4739	0.6785
US $	1.0866	0.9203

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2158.15	2163.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.72	82.72

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1792, Wall Street crashed for the first time ever. On “Black Monday,” 6% Treasury bonds lost 10% of their value and shares in the Bank of the United States dropped 12%. Speculator William Duer, a friend of Alexander Hamilton, had borrowed too much money and was about to be thrown in debtors’ prison, spreading panic through the cobblestone streets of downtown Manhattan.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.1% at 21,860.58 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%.
Gildan Activewear Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.8%.
Today, 126 of 224 shares rose, while 96 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.3%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 32% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7% below its 52-week high on March 13, 2024 and 17% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 2.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.34% compared with 11.37% in the previous session and the average of 11.96% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 18.0785| 0.3| 16/11
Energy | 15.3942| 0.4| 34/7
Consumer Discretionary | 11.4893| 1.5| 11/2
Information Technology | 9.4977| 0.5| 5/5
Consumer Staples | 7.9636| 0.9| 6/5
Real Estate | 1.0388| 0.2| 13/7
Health Care | 0.6759| 1.0| 3/1
Communication Services | -0.8032| -0.1| 2/3
Utilities | -1.1147| -0.1| 7/8
Industrials | -6.5415| -0.2| 18/9
Materials | -32.2975| -1.4| 11/38
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Couche-Tard | 7.6610| 1.9| -19.5| 5.5
Constellation Software | 6.7900| 1.3| -35.8| 13.6
TD Bank | 5.9560| 0.6| 6.7| -5.7
Canadian National | -4.0800| -0.6| -42.1| 5.1
Barrick Gold | -5.7690| -2.2| -47.5| -13.5
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -15.5100| -2.0| -18.5| 13.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders gearing up for the Federal Reserve decision sent stocks to fresh all-time highs amid gains in several big techs.
Equities erased losses after a rebound in the “Magnificent Seven” cohort of tech mega-caps — dubbed the “most-crowded trade” by Bank of America Corp.
Nvidia Corp. rose on bets its new chips will fuel a rally that’s already added $1 trillion to the company’s value this year.
Bonds also gained after a rout that saw traders pushing back their timetable for rate cuts.
Investors should buy the dip in stocks in the case of pullbacks amid a backdrop of good economic growth and inflation normalization, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by Christian Mueller-Glissmann.
“While equity momentum has somewhat supported broader risk appetite, we see limited implications of a continued reversal barring a material US rate shock,” they said.
The S&P 500 approached 5,180. Treasuries pushed higher, with a $13 billion sale of 20-year bonds drawing strong demand.
The yen slid as the Bank of Japan refrained from signaling any future hikes after scrapping the last negative interest rate regime.
Wall Street is so divided on whether the US stock market’s meteoric rise has gone too far, too fast that even Bank of America’s own strategists disagree.
There is little evidence that the frenzy for artificial-intelligence is pushing the market into bubble territory, according to BofA’s Savita Subramanian.
Her view runs counter to what the firm’s chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett said last week.
“There’s no broad spread euphoria,” Subramanian said in a joint interview with Jill Carey Hall, the firm’s head of small-and mid-cap strategy on Bloomberg Television. “The risks are sitting outside of the public market,” adding that private credit and private equity, along with regional banks are where credit risks are bubbling up.
The latest BofA fund manager survey showed that investors were split on whether or not artificial intelligence stocks are in a bubble — with 40% saying “yes” and 45% answering “no.”
Bullish positioning softened for US equities last week, according to Citigroup strategists led by Chris Montagu.
While S&P 500 and Nasdaq positioning remains net long — and moderately extended — the current setup leaves less positioning risks for both indexes, they noted.
A survey conducted by 22V Research showed that 56% of investors think the next 10% move in the S&P 500 will be higher.
In addition, the poll revealed that 37% expect a “risk-on” reaction to the Fed’s decision, 33% said “risk-off” and 31%, “negligible/mixed.”
With the Fed expected to hold rates steady for a fifth consecutive meeting on Wednesday, attention will shift to the central bank’s projections in the so-called dot plot.
The summary of economic projections will reveal whether still-robust data are giving officials cause to dial back intentions to cut rates — or whether their outlook for three reductions this year remains on track.
“Whether the rise in yields and the dollar can continue comes crucially down to whether the Fed validates the hawkish narrative or not,” said Win Thin and Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman. “If Jerome Powell can stick to the hawkish script, the message will remain consistent and market reaction will likely be limited. If he veers from the script and delivers a dovish tilt, then market reaction will likely be quite violent.”
Mark Cabana at BofA said that if the Fed’s dots show only two cuts in 2024, the two-year note will tumble 10 basis points, the dollar will rally and risk assets will “take it on the chin to some extent.”
Speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview Tuesday, Cabana said if the dots show three cuts — the base case for BofA economists — the two-year note will then rally five basis points, the dollar will weaken and risk will be on.
The Fed will also begin in-depth discussions about its balance sheet this week, including when and how to slow the pace at which the central bank drains excess cash from the financial system.
Since 2022, the Fed has been letting as much as $60 billion in Treasuries and as much as $35 billion in agency-backed mortgage debt mature each month and roll off its balance sheet, a process known as quantitative tightening.
“In our view, commentary around plans for the Fed’s balance sheet will be at least as important as remarks around the potential timing of rate cuts,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research. “While we don’t expect an official QT tapering
announcement until the May meeting, we’re hoping for color around the potential timing and pace of the wind down.”
The Fed has expressed a preference for eventual return to a Treasury-only portfolio — so the MBS runoff pace is expected to continue, though the Fed might be more flexible to extend the timeline, slowing QT, according to Naomi Fink at Nikko Asset Management.
“There’s also a bias toward coupon securities, which means the Fed over time has to increase its T-bill holdings relative to its coupon holdings, which all else equal, argues for waning support for the long-end of the curve,” Fink noted.

Corporate Highlights:
* Cryptocurrency-linked stocks slipped as Bitcoin extended a retreat following a record daily outflow from the world’s biggest exchange-traded fund for the token.
* MicroStrategy Inc. made its second multi-million dollar purchase of Bitcoin in a little more than a week, raising the company’s holdings to more than 1% of all the cryptocurrency that will ever be issued.
* Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said his company is well placed to grab an outsized chunk of worldwide spending on data center equipment because of the variety of chips and software it’s producing.
* Michael Dell is unloading shares in his namesake computer company for the first time in almost three years as Dell Technologies Inc.’s stock soars on artificial-intelligence optimism.
* Macy’s Inc. has opened its books to Arkhouse Management Co. and Brigade Capital Management, the investment firms pushing to take over the famous US department store chain.
* Boeing Co. has been exploring the sale of at least two of its defense businesses, as the beleaguered aircraft manufacturer fights through its biggest crisis in years.
* Chevron Corp.’s discussions with Exxon Mobil Corp. and China’s Cnooc Ltd. over a prolific oil field off the shores of Guyana ended “abruptly” a few weeks ago, Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said.
* Gildan Activewear Inc., the Canadian clothing manufacturer that owns the American Apparel brand, says it has “several” potential buyers interested in a friendly takeover.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Wednesday
* Fed rate decision; Chair Jerome Powell holds news conference, Wednesday
* Reddit’s IPO, Wednesday
* ECB’s Christine Lagarde speaks, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* Bank of England rate decision, Thursday
* US Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Nike, FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* Germany IFO business climate, Friday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Friday
* ECB’s Robert Holzmann and Philip Lane speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0865
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2721
* The Japanese yen fell 1.2% to 150.90 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 4.4% to $64,398.15
* Ether fell 5% to $3,334.02
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.30%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.45%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.06%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $83.44 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,157.63 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Farah Elbahrawy, Ye Xie, Michael Mackenzie, Alexandra Harris and Jessica Menton.

Have  a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
A good rule of thumb for many things in life holds that things take longer to happen than you thing they will, and then happen faster than you thought they could. –Larry Summers, b.1954.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
March 18, 1974: Most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their embargo against the United States.  Go to article >>
March 18, 2020: US President Donald Trump & Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau closed the US-Canada border due to COVID-19.

1931: Electric razor debuted.

Sleeping subduction zone could awaken and form a new ‘Ring of Fire’ that swallows the Atlantic Ocean
A modeling study suggests a slumbering subduction zone below the Gibraltar Strait is active and could break into the Atlantic Ocean in 20 million years’ time, giving birth to an Atlantic “Ring of Fire.” Read More.

Have all 8 planets ever aligned?
The solar system’s eight planets will never truly be in a straight line, but they can get close to it. Read More.

Gargantuan volcano on Mars found hidden ‘in plain sight,’ and it could hold potential signs of life
A newly discovered volcano near Mars’ “Labyrinth of Night” could be a “prime” spot to search for life on the Red Planet, scientists say.
Full Story: Live Science (3/15)

Chicago dyed its river green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day
The celebration that took place Sunday is so renowned it even draws visitors from Ireland! Watch the video here.

Beyond the Las Vegas Strip, art is winning big
Most visitors love Las Vegas for the glamorous hotels along the Strip, but the most exciting neighborhood in the city right now is all about art.

Authorities seize 750-pound pet alligator in upstate New York
See you later, alligator!

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Galapagos biodiversity under threat – in pictures
The North Seymour island dive site.

Chapel Santa Maria degli Angeli, Switzerland.

London, UK
Crowds gather to view a new Banksy artwork – a stencil of a person and spray-painted tree foliage on a wall behind a leafless tree – near Finsbury Park in north London
Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 18^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38790.43	+75.66
		+0.20%
S&P 500	5149.42	+32.33
		+0.63%
NASDAQ	16103.45	+130.28
		+0.82%
TSX	21837.18	-11.97
		-0.05%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39740.44	+1032.80
		+2.67%
HANG SENG	16737.12	+16.23
		+0.10%
SENSEX	72748.42	+104.99
		+0.14%
FTSE 100*	7722.55	-4.87
		-0.063%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.597	3.544
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.455	3.414
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.3242	4.3063
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4483	4.4289

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7387	0.7395
US $	1.3537	1.3523

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4718	0.6794
US $	1.0873	0.9197

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2163.45	2160.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	82.72	81.04

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1850, Henry Wells, William G. Fargo, and John Butterfield joined their separate companies into a single firm, American Express Co., with a monopoly over express shipping in the Northeast. AmEx at first specialized in shipping small valuables like bond certificates, currency, and financial contracts—plus live poultry, pianos, and firecrackers.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 21,837.18 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.1%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.4%.
BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 6.8%.
Today, 104 of 224 shares fell, while 116 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.2%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.8% below its 52-week high on March 13, 2024 and 16.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and rose 2.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.2 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.37% compared with 11.89% in the previous session and the average of 11.99% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -17.1582| -0.7| 14/34
Consumer Staples | -14.5060| -1.6| 6/5
Financials | -6.8537| -0.1| 14/12
Information Technology | -6.5455| -0.3| 6/4
Utilities | -6.4156| -0.8| 4/10
Communication Services | -4.2235| -0.6| 1/4
Consumer Discretionary | 0.9946| 0.1| 1/12
Health Care | 2.1726| 3.3| 4/0
Real Estate | 4.0996| 0.8| 19/2
Industrials | 13.0609| 0.4| 15/12
Energy | 23.4134| 0.6| 32/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Couche-Tard | -14.6100| -3.4| 9.6| 3.6
TD Bank | -14.1500| -1.4| 20.9| -6.3
Constellation Software | -9.1530| -1.8| 36.5| 12.1
Restaurant Brands | 4.6320| 2.0| 80.5| 5.4
Canadian National | 7.1500| 1.0| 6.2| 5.7
Canadian Natural Resources | 8.1020| 1.1| 28.1| 14.5
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Tech giants led gains in stocks at the start of a week that will bring a raft of central-bank decisions from the US to England and Japan.
Equities rebounded from a recent pullback, with mega-caps outpacing the broader market.
Alphabet Inc. jumped as Bloomberg News reported Apple Inc. is in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial-intelligence engine into the iPhone.
In late hours, Nvidia Corp.’s chief Jensen Huang showed off new chips aimed at extending his company’s dominance of AI computing.
“Investors shouldn’t lose sight of the areas that continue to drive the bulk of corporate profits,” said Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise. “In our view, the profit growth associated with  Big Tech today stands in stark contrast to the profitless companies that drove the tech wreck at the turn of the century.”
Wall Street is also gearing up for more insights on the Federal Reserve’s resolve to ease as central banks set policy for almost half the global economy.
The week features the world’s biggest agglomeration of decisions for 2024 to date, including judgments on the cost of borrowing for six of the 10 most-traded currencies.
The S&P 500 halted a three-day slide, the Nasdaq 100 rose 1% and a gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” tech mega-caps climbed twice as much.
US two-year yields hovered near 2024 highs as expectations for Fed cuts continued to erode.
The yen fluctuated after a news report the Bank of Japan is poised to end its policy of guiding government bond yields — known as yield curve control.
“It’s a jam-packed week of central bank meetings,” said Win Thin and Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman. “There are sure to be some surprises and so today’s calm is likely to give way to greater volatility ahead.”
Ahead of the Fed decision, Japan will face a monumental moment in its history — with the nation expected to end its negative interest rate regime — the world’s last.
Traders betting on the outcome of the BoJ’s decision have boosted their positions in yen futures to the highest since 2007.
Bank of America Corp. strategists said that an end to YCC would only have a limited impact on the appetite for US Treasuries.
Bond investors who were once convinced that the Fed would start cutting rates this week are painfully surrendering to a higher-for-longer reality.
Treasury yields have climbed as data continued to point to persistent inflation, causing traders to push back their timetable for US monetary easing.
Swaps are currently pricing in less than 50% odds of a June rate cut.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists led by Jan Hatzius changed their forecast to call for three quarter-point Fed cuts this year — instead of four.
The change, which brings the forecast in line with the median forecast policymakers made in December, is “mainly because of the slightly higher inflation path,” they said.
“After last week’s double-dose of hot inflation data, everyone will be wondering whether the Fed is rethinking a June cut,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “The market will need to like what it sees in the Fed’s statement on Wednesday, and get confirmation from Jerome Powell that two months of sticky inflation numbers won’t derail the Fed’s game plan.”
Investors will be keenly focused on the US central bank’s projections — the dot plot — to gauge how many rate cuts policymakers are expecting to deliver this year.
To Krishna Guha at Evercore, the Fed will firm up its tone following hotter inflation reports – but will continue to point to a market-friendly base case of three cuts this year starting June.
“We think he will say the Committee will be patient and take as long as needed to accumulate sufficient confidence – underlining June is not guaranteed and the Fed would delay to July/September if necessary, Guha noted.
Traders will also be interested to see whether the Fed changes its views for 2025-2026 and the “neutral rate” — the level seen as neither stoking growth or holding it back.
“The Fed has been quite reluctant to change their neutral rate estimate,” said Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro Research.
“Raising neutral would be one way to signal to markets that a deep easing cycle is unlikely.”
Wall Street will listen carefully to any signs from Powell on the phase out of quantitative tightening, known as QT.
While a handful expect the Fed to announce or even begin slowing the unwind of its balance sheet as early as May, others don’t see a tapering starting until the second half of the year.
It looks like the Fed will begin to taper QT this year — and hints to that effect could be a positive for Treasury  markets — allowing yields to drift sideways or down, according to David Kelly at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
“For investors, this isn’t exactly a rallying cry to buy bonds,” Kelly noted. “However, it does suggest the potential for a relatively stable financial environment, allowing equities to continue to move higher and fixed income to play its traditional role of providing income and diversification to portfolios.”
US stocks will beat Treasuries over the next month, according to the latest MLIV Pulse survey.
That’s the fifth consecutive poll in which majority of respondents opted for equities, the longest streak of pro-stocks bias since the survey started asking the question in August of 2022.
Recent data has painted an ambiguous picture about the growth and inflation trends in the US economy, but it’s best not to over-analyze each data point and instead be clear-headed about the general direction of travel, said Jason Draho at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“It’s a fairly healthy US macro environment, and it should stay that way,” Draho said. “The Fed is likely to communicate the same message this week, and it seems inclined to do what it can to support that outlook. This is directionally positive for financial markets, and that’s not even accounting for the AI tailwind. Speed bumps, or turbulence, more aptly, aren’t enough to derail the soft-landing trajectory.”
In earnings this week, FedEx Corp.’s outlook on Thursday will provide hints on the state of the US economy after the bellwether previously forecast a slight revenue decline this fiscal year because of “volatile macroeconomic conditions.”
Nike Inc., Lululemon Athletica Inc., General Mills Inc., and Darden Restaurants Inc. results will show whether consumers are pulling back on spending or trading down, especially with inflation hanging around.

Corporate Highlights:
* Nasdaq Inc. said it has resolved a technology glitch that disrupted premarket trading for almost three hours.
* The boss of Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday that it has no interest in buying Hess Corp. outright, despite taking Chevron Corp. to arbitration over its proposed $52 billion merger with the other company.
* Fisker Inc. is pausing production for the next six weeks as the electric-vehicle maker looks to rein in inventory and avoid possibly having to file for bankruptcy.
* B. Riley Financial Inc., the boutique investment bank under attack from short sellers about its dealings with a former business partner, failed to file its audited results after an extension period ended.
* PNC Financial Services Group Inc. announced Monday that it’s launched a national advertising campaign to persuade customers that its bank is “brilliantly boring.”
* The head of United Airlines Holdings Inc. told customers that the carrier is reviewing a series of recent mishaps involving its planes, promising any lessons learned would “inform our safety training and procedures” across the company.
* Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., the education technology company and publisher of books including the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is seeking a valuation of about $1 billion its initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Key events this week:
* Bank of Japan rate decision, Tuesday
* Germany ZEW survey expectations, Tuesday
* European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos speaks, Tuesday
* US housing starts, Tuesday
* Eurozone consumer confidence, Wednesday
* Fed rate decision; Chair Jerome Powell holds news conference, Wednesday
* Reddit’s IPO, Wednesday
* ECB’s Christine Lagarde speaks, Wednesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* Bank of England rate decision, Thursday
* US Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Nike, FedEx earnings, Thursday
* Japan CPI, Friday
* Germany IFO business climate, Friday
* Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Friday
* ECB’s Robert Holzmann and Philip Lane speak, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0869
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2727
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 149.19 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $66,996.2
* Ether fell 4.2% to $3,481.26
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.33%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.46%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.09%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to $82.93 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,160.04 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Mackenzie, Alexandra Harris, Jan-Patrick Barnert, Michael Msika, Craig Stirling, Felice Maranz, Kasia Klimasinska, Robert Fullem, Carter Johnson and Ye Xie.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. –Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday, the Ides of March.

March 15, 1985: The world’s first internet domain name , symbolics.com, is registered by the Symbolics Computer Corporation of Massachusetts.  Go to article >>

Julius Caesar, d.44 BC.
Czar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates his throne.

‘Flow state’ uncovered: We finally know what happens in the brain when you’re ‘in the zone’
Researchers say they’ve found the answer to competing hypotheses about how the brain functions in a “flow state.”
Full Story: Live Science (3/14)

Organic molecules swirling around unborn stars hint at origins of Earth-like worlds
Complex organic molecules spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope may hint at how habitable planets form. Read More.

‘Imagine a lush tropical island slipping beneath the waves’: Drowned island the size of Iceland found off Brazil
An undersea volcanic plateau in the southwestern Atlantic was a tropical island 45 million years ago.  Read More.

James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe
Depending on where we look, the universe is expanding at different rates. Now, scientists using the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes have confirmed that the observation is not down to a measurement error. Read More.

Winged ‘basilisk’ on medieval pilgrim’s badge discovered in Poland
Such badges were common among Christian pilgrims in the Middle Ages, but it’s not clear what the basilisk represents. Read More.

World’s largest computer chip WSE-3 will power massive AI supercomputer 8 times faster than the current record-holder
Cerebras’ Wafer Scale Engine 3 (WSE-3) chip contains four trillion transistors and will power the 8-exaFLOP Condor Galaxy 3 supercomputer one day. Read More.

British Wildlife Photography Awards 2024: The winning images
These stunning photos show surprising wildlife in the British Isles.

Shohei Ohtani reveals his new wife’s identity
Two weeks after making the surprise announcement of his marriage, Major League Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has revealed his new wife’s identity — and she’s also a top athlete.

A cosmic ‘poke’ by NASA receives surprising response from Voyager 1
A “poke” sent to the Voyager 1 probe received a response that could help NASA restore reliable communication with the aging spacecraft 15 billion miles away.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Ajmer, India
A ladybird on a stalk of wheat
Photograph: Himanshu Sharma/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

Beijing, China
A magnolia tree in bloom
Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

​​​​​​​Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Boys fly kites on a hilltop
Photograph: Omer Abrar/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 15^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38714.77	-190.89
		-0.49%
S&P 500	5117.09	-33.39
		-0.65%
NASDAQ	15973.18	-155.35
		-0.96%
TSX	21849.15	+19.29
		+0.09%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38707.64	-99.74
		-0.26%
HANG SENG	16720.89	-240.77
		-1.42%
SENSEX	72643.43	-453.85
		-0.62%
FTSE 100*	7727.42	-15.73
		-0.20%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.544	3.530
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.414	3.408
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.3063	4.2903
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4289	4.4337

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7395	0.7386
US $	1.3523	1.3539

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4737	0.6786
US $	1.0898	0.9176

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2160.80	2168.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.04	81.26

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1817, the New York Stock Exchange prohibited the “fictitious sales,” or wash sales, that had enabled speculators to manipulate individual stocks without even owning them. Nevertheless, the practice continued unabated for decades more.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 21,849.15 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.6%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4%.
NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust had the largest increase, rising 8.6%.
Today, 128 of 225 shares rose, while 91 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.2%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.5%
* The index advanced 13% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.7% below its 52-week high on March 13, 2024 and 16.9% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.3 on a trailing basis and 15 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.89% compared with 11.92% in the previous session and the average of 12.06% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 23.9407| 1.0| 39/13
Industrials | 9.6422| 0.3| 17/9
Utilities | 5.5749| 0.7| 11/3
Consumer Staples | 5.1659| 0.6| 5/6
Communication Services | 4.3342| 0.6| 4/1
Health Care | 1.0749| 1.7| 3/1
Real Estate | -0.5929| -0.1| 8/12
Financials | -1.7467| 0.0| 12/15
Energy | -3.1129| -0.1| 23/14
Consumer Discretionary | -6.6215| -0.8| 5/8
Information Technology | -18.3668| -0.9| 1/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Couche-Tard | 6.0880| 1.4| 368.6| 7.3
Cameco | 4.7880| 2.9| 436.6| -2.6
First Quantum Minerals | 4.7010| 6.8| 109.4| 38.3
Restaurant Brands | -7.4320| -3.1| 418.3| 3.3
Canadian Natural Resources | -10.0600| -1.3| 117.8| 13.2
Shopify | -13.3800| -1.5| 316.3| 1.3
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell at the end of a jittery week as tech sold off and a pile of options expiring Friday amplified market swings.
Wall Street faced a quarterly episode ominously known as triple witching — in which derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures matured — compelling traders en masse to roll over their existing positions or to start new ones.
About $5.3 trillion were set to expire, according to Rocky Fishman, founder of derivatives analytical firm Asym 500.
“It’s a day in which the direction of the market is very, very difficult to predict,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.
“The ‘internals’ get so skewed by the expiration that they don’t tell us anything. It will be important that investors don’t use today’s action when trying to decipher what is going to happen in the marketplace next week and beyond.”
The options event came at a critical juncture for markets positioning for next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. A
recent pickup in inflation has intensified the debate around the degree of easing officials will signal for 2024.
The S&P 500 dropped to around 5,115, with trading volume that was well above the average of the past month.
The Nasdaq 100 fell over 1%.
Adobe Inc. sank on a weak sales outlook.
Nvidia Corp. saw a 10th straight weekly gain — with its artificial intelligence conference just days away.
Treasury 10-year bonds saw their worst week this year.
“This week has been remarkably confusing on multiple fronts,” said Florian Ielpo at Lombard Odier Asset Management.
“The macroeconomic news flow has made it clear that the US economy is unexpectedly slowing down, while inflation is decelerating at a slower pace. Instead of focusing on the economic slowdown, markets have fully embraced the inflation narrative.”
Traders in interest-rate swaps pushed bets on the timing of the full first, quarter-point Fed cut to the central bank’s July meeting.
Fed officials last released quarterly forecasts in December, anticipating three quarter-point cuts in 2024, and they’re set to release an update of those projections — known as the dot plot — on March 20.
Economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. changed their forecast for the Fed’s monetary-policy rate cuts over the course of all of 2024 to 75 basis points. Previously they expected a total of 125 basis points.
The glide path to the Fed’s 2% inflation target is anything but smooth and the final mile to the finish line is likely to take some time and a lot more data to gauge its progress, according to Carol Schleif at BMO Family Office.
“The earliest possible cut could be June, though we wouldn’t be shocked to see that delayed to later in the year if the data continues to come in hot as recent data has,” she noted. “Our base case is for three total rate cuts in 2024,
though it’s possible that the Fed cuts rates even fewer times if the economic data surprises to the upside.”
The rally in equity markets could falter if sticky inflation prompts the Fed to turn more hawkish next week and signal fewer-than-expected rate cuts, according to Barclays Plc strategists led by Emmanuel Cau.
“With the Fed so far endorsing current market pricing of three cuts starting in June, investors continue to see the glass half full on the soft landing narrative,” they wrote.
Investors are dismissing the risk of stagflation, sending record flows into US equities, according to Bank of America Corp.
US equity funds got $56 billion in the week through March 13, strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note, citing EPFR Global.
Technology stocks had the largest inflow among sectors, at $6.8 billion, rebounding from a record outflow.
Hartnett said a “new bout of stagflation means outperformance of gold, commodities, crypto, cash, a big steepening of the yield curve, and a very contrarian equity barbell of resources & defensives.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Nippon Steel Corp. said it’s determined to complete its $14.1 billion acquisition of United States Steel Corp., even after President Joe Biden stated the company should stay in US hands.
* JD.com Inc. said it will not make an offer for British electronics retailer Currys Plc, just days after US buyout firm Elliott Investment Management also walked away.
* Binance Holdings Ltd. has tightened requirements for listing new digital tokens, stepping up efforts to bolster investor protections on its platform.
* Boeing Co. has sent a so-called multi-operator message to operators of the 787 jetliner following an in-flight incident involving the long-distance jet a few days ago, in which the plane briefly and rapidly lost altitude, injuring multiple
people on board.
* United Airlines Holdings Inc. is close to securing three dozen or more Airbus A321neo jets from aircraft lessors as it looks to replace Boeing Co. 737 Max 10 orders that are at least five years behind schedule, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug Rezdiffra gained the first US approval to treat a potentially deadly liver disease that affects millions worldwide, succeeding in an area where some bigger rivals have failed.
* Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc plunged after a jury awarded an Illinois woman $60 million in damages, saying the company’s Enfamil baby formula led to the death of her premature baby.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.7%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0889
* The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.2738
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 149.06 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 2.9% to $68,640.2
* Ether fell 4.4% to $3,672.6
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.31%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.44%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.10%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $80.99 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,157.30 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang, Carter Johnson and Farah Elbahrawy.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  Because almost everything – all external expectation, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. – Steve Jobs, 1955-2011.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

March 14, 1794: Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin machine revolutionizing the cotton industry in the southern US states.
March 14, 1900: Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act. Go to article >>

George Frederick Handel, b. 1681
Albert Einstein, b.1879
Diane Arbus, b. 1923

How technology can help feed the planet
Dubai is already home to the world’s largest vertical farm. Now, a bigger facility is underway in the city. See how the new “Giga Farm” could transform waste into compost, animal feed, clean water and energy.

Paul Alexander, polio survivor who lived in iron lung for 70 years, dies age 78
Paul Alexander was one of the last people to use an iron lung, having been left unable to breathe on his own after catching polio in the 1950s. Read More.

NASA unveils cryptic message from Earth to be sent to Jupiter’s icy ocean moon Europa
From a poem written by a U.S. Poet Laureate to millions of stenciled names, NASA’s Clipper spacecraft’s trip to Europa will be marked with a human touch. Read More.

Opposites attract? Not in new experiment that finds loophole in fundamental rule of physics
Like-charged objects were found to clump together while opposites repelled because of the newly discovered “electro solvation force.” Read More.

The 2024 Sony World Photography Awards Open Competition.
Le Monde’s selection of France’s 15 best croissants

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Patan, Nepal
A worker paints the eye of Lord Buddha before the procession of the Samyak Mahadan festival, an alms-giving festival offering worship at the painted idol of Lord Buddha, brought from various temples, for world peace and human welfare
Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA

Cambridge, UK
Gallery technicians install Zipporah by Barbara Walker at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which is reopening its five main painting galleries to the public after a major refurbishment and redisplay project
Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

​​​​​​​Buckinghamshire, UK
‘A fly on a snowdrop in a church graveyard in Shalstone.’
Photograph: Chris Allen
Market Closes for March 14^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38905.66	-137.66
		-0.35%
S&P 500	5150.48	-14.83
		-0.29%
NASDAQ	16128.53	-49.24
		-0.30%
TSX	21829.86	-140.25
		-0.64%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38807.38	+111.41
		+0.29%
HANG SENG	16961.66	-120.45
		-0.71%
SENSEX	73097.28	+335.39
		+0.46%
FTSE 100*	7743.15	-29.02
		-0.37%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.530	3.424
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.408	3.325
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2903	4.1899
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4337	4.3398

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7386	0.7424
US $	1.3539	1.3470

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4732	0.6788
US $	1.0882	0.9189

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2168.40	2161.25
Oil
WTI Crude Future	81.26	79.72

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1821, the market opened, but not a single share changed hands, on one of the quietest days in Wall Street history
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.6% at 21,829.85 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 2.3% on Feb. 13 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.6%.
Today, financials stocks led the market lower, as 10 of 11 sectors lost; 144 of 225 shares fell, while 77 rose.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.9%. Jamieson Wellness Inc. had the largest drop, falling 11.7%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.2%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.4%
* The index advanced 11% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 31% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.8% below its 52-week high on March 13, 2024 and 16.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 4.5% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.4 on a trailing basis and 14.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.48t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.92% compared with 11.73% in the previous session and the average of 12.04% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -54.9375| -0.8| 6/21
Materials | -22.3305| -0.9| 15/36
Communication Services | -19.8405| -2.7| 1/4
Industrials | -18.1222| -0.6| 10/16
Consumer Staples | -9.4667| -1.0| 0/11
Consumer Discretionary | -8.7848| -1.1| 3/10
Utilities | -7.1773| -0.9| 4/10
Information Technology | -5.0886| -0.3| 3/7
Health Care | -0.8764| -1.4| 0/4
Real Estate | -0.3359| -0.1| 5/14
Energy | 6.7091| 0.2| 30/11
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | -11.5600| -0.9| -26.0| 0.7
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -11.1300| -1.4| 12.7| 15.8
Brookfield Corp | -10.0900| -1.8| -0.3| 4.6
Cameco | 2.2730| 1.4| 1.5| -5.4
Fairfax Financial | 3.0170| 1.3| -16.2| 23.7
Suncor Energy | 8.1410| 1.9| 14.8| 15.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The world’s biggest bond market sold off after another hot inflation report reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to cut rates even as some areas of the economy show signs of sluggishness.
Treasury yields rose and stocks fell as the data underscored the Fed’s challenges in achieving its 2% inflation goal.
Following the steps of the consumer-price data, the producer price index also signaled a pickup in cost pressures.
In contrast, retail sales missed estimates.
While it’s probably early to draw any conclusions, the set of figures raised some eyebrows about the specter of stagflation.
“Well, this is a pickle,” said Chris Low at FHN Financial.  “On the heels of a second steamy CPI, and just a week before the Fed meeting, the February PPI rises at twice the expected pace.  Retail sales were ‘meh’ at best, if not downright weak.”
US 10-year yields climbed 10 basis points to 4.29%.
Traders pared bets on Fed cuts in 2024, with swaps fully pricing in a first move in July.
The S&P 500 fell to around 5,150 ahead of Friday’s options expiration — which has the potential to amplify volatility.
Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. slid.
Homebuilders sank after Lennar Corp.’s weak forecast.
The dollar rose.
Oil topped $81.
“In a way, today was the past month in microcosm — sticky inflation combined with signs of softness elsewhere in the economy,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley. “The questions now are: Will traders rethink how soon the Fed will cuts rates? And will that slow down the stock-market rally in any meaningful way?”
The inflation numbers are just not giving policymakers any incentive to ease, said Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities.
The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged at the March 19-20 meeting for the fifth straight gathering.
Coming on the heels of reports warning of persistently high inflation, the focus will be on the Fed’s new “dot plot.”
The median forecast of policymakers in December showed three quarter-point rate reductions for 2024.
Over two days on Capitol Hill earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave no evidence he was bothered by surging asset prices — which arguably work against his goal of keeping financial conditions tight enough to wring excesses out of the economy.
“Equity and bond bulls are staring at their calendars and drawing a ‘big red circle’ around the 20th of this month,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. “Folks are concerned Powell may have to pull a dangerous U-turn during his ride on the monetary-policy highway. His dovish messaging since December has driven an intense loosening in financial conditions.”
To Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets, there was nothing within Thursday’s set of economic updates that will offer anything new for next week’s Fed meeting.
It’s only a couple of prints and “insufficient” to draw any broad-based conclusion, he noted.
Ellen Zentner at Morgan Stanley says she expects little change to the Fed statement and the projections — with the median dot remaining at three cuts.
“Key risk: it would take just two participants to change from three cuts to two for the median dot to move to a total of two cuts in 2024 — underscoring that the risk tilts toward fewer rather than greater,” she noted. “Chair Powell is unlikely in the ‘two camp,’ and we think will push to keep the median at three.”
With February’s CPI and PPI data in hand, Bloomberg Economics estimates that the core PCE deflator — the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator — and core services excluding housing, known as “super core,” will both moderate.
While the February PPI was stronger than expected, the details that affect PCE inflation were on the “softer side,” according to Bank of America Corp. economists including Michael Gapen.
“We continue to expect the Fed will start its cutting cycle in June,” they said. “However, it will need to see more improvement in the upcoming inflation data to have enough confidence to begin to ease.”
Amid all the economic and policy uncertainties, equities also struggled on Thursday.
That happened at a time when high valuations of a few mega-caps have pushed some market observers to worry about a bubble.
Markets are showing characteristics of a bubble in the record-setting surge by tech’s so-called Magnificent Seven stocks and the all-time highs in cryptocurrencies, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.
With inflation re-accelerating, growth a little soft and risk assets unscathed, “that is very symptomatic of a bubble mentality,” Hartnett told Bloomberg Television.
While the top 10 stocks in the benchmark index are indeed historically expensive relative to the rest of the market — the other 490 are also trading at multiples significantly above their long-term averages, according to Ned Davis Research’s Ed Clissold.
If a bubble is forming in US stocks, it has plenty of room to expand before it bursts, according to strategists at Société Générale SA.
A team at the bank led by Manish Kabra said the S&P 500 can climb to 6,250 — over 20% from its current level — before reaching the multiples seen at the peak of the dot-com boom in 2000.
That suggests the stock market can continue its sharp advance despite brewing worries that it has run up too far.

Corporate Highlights:
* US Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said in a speech that Boeing Co. became “too big to fail” after it bought up domestic competitors and became the country’s largest commercial aerospace maker.
* United States Steel Corp. plunged for a second day after President Joe Biden said the company should retain American ownership, coming out against a takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. despite the risk of upsetting a key ally.
* Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves said he’d consider another bid — with union support — for US Steel, albeit at a significantly lower price than the existing offer from Nippon Steel.
* Lennar Corp., one of the biggest US homebuilders, says it is considering a $4 billion spinoff of land it holds.
* Dollar General Inc.’s latest earnings signaled improvements in operations, but the discount retailer cautioned that turnaround efforts will take time.
* Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. reported sales that surpassed analysts’ expectations, spurred by strong demand for sports gear.
* Reddit Inc. is telling potential investors in its initial public offering that it expects revenue in 2024 to grow by more than 20% versus the previous year, according to a person familiar with the situation.
* New York Community Bancorp, the troubled commercial real estate lender that just got a capital infusion from a group led by Steven Mnuchin, said it will book a gain after selling a portfolio of consumer loans with a net book value of $899 million as well as a co-op loan.

Key events this week:
* China property prices, Friday
* Japan’s largest union federation announces results of annual wage negotiations, just ahead of Bank of Japan policy meeting, Friday
* Bank of England issues inflation survey, Friday
* US industrial production, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Empire Manufacturing, Friday

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 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.0891
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2755
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 148.24 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 5.3% to $69,284.01
* Ether fell 5.3% to $3,780.22
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 10 basis points to 4.29%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.43%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced seven basis points to 4.09%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.7% to $81.11 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $2,163.19 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Esha Dey, Alexandra Semenova and Liz Capo McCormick.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty. –Christopher Darlington Morley, 1890-1957.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 13, 1781: Planet Uranus discovered by Sir William Herschel.  Go to article >>
March 13, 1877: American Chester Greenwood patents earmuffs after inventing them at age 15.

March 13, 1986: Microsoft offers its first shares to the public with share prices rising from $26 to $29 before closing at $27.25. Microsoft is founded in 1975 by two former classmates at Seattle’s Lakeside School, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. First based in Albuquerque, N.M., they move to the Bellevue area in 1979 and later establish a Redmond campus. Paul Allen, 65, dies in October 2018. (Compiled from Historylink.org)

Every 2.4 million years, Mars tugs on Earth so hard it changes the ocean floor
A new geological study suggests that Mars’ gravitational field pulls the Earth closer to the sun over cycles lasting millions of years, warming our climate. Read More

Dying SpaceX rocket creates glowing, galaxy-like spiral in the middle of the Northern Lights
A large swirl of white light that temporarily outshone vibrant auroras in the Arctic last week was triggered by the death throes of a SpaceX rocket that deployed more than 50 satellites into space. Read More.

35 years after first proposing the World Wide Web, what does its creator Tim Berners-Lee have in mind next?
After seeing the balance of power shift to large corporations and big tech companies, the founder of the World Wide Web is determined to give users control over their data again. Read More.

Technicolor ‘living magic carpet’ deep-sea worm discovered near methane seep off Costa Rica
The rosy-colored, segmented worms are blind and live in complete darkness over 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Read More.

Skier’s unexpected midair collision goes viral
A 17-year-old skier told CNN he feels “beat up” after crashing into the moving seat of a chairlift. Watch the video here.

Can AI really be weaponized?
Rapidly evolving artificial intelligence could pose an “extinction-level” threat to humans and the US must intervene, a report commissioned by the State Department says.

This 70-year-old is calling for sexy, empowered clothes for seniors
In her new memoir, fashion influencer Lyn Slater addresses “how to live boldly at any age,” in appearance, attitude and aesthetic.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Valencia, Spain
A worker on a cherry picker helps with a sculpture installation during preparations for the Fallas festival
Photograph: Kai Försterling/EPA

Nottingham, UK
People inspect the interior of Architects of Air’s latest creation, Lumini, during its inaugural test inflation
Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​North Carolina, US
‘A ruby-throated hummingbird in my back garden in Wake Forest.’
Photograph: Stuart Reeves
Market Closes for March 13^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39043.32	+37.83
		+0.10%
S&P 500	5165.31	-9.96
		-0.19%
NASDAQ	16177.77	-87.87
		-0.54%
TSX	21970.11	+139.09
		+0.64%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38695.97	-101.54
		-0.26%
HANG SENG	17082.11	-11.39
		-0.07%
SENSEX	72761.89	-906.07
		-1.23%
FTSE 100*	7772.17	+24.36
		+0.31%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.424	3.392
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.325	3.302
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1899	4.1429
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3398	4.3030

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7424	0.7411
US $	1.3470	1.3494

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4751	0.6779
US $	1.0953	0.9130

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2161.25	2180.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	79.72	77.56

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1928, Radio Corp. of America traded at $160 a share intraday, jumping 33% in two days. Radio stocks were the tech stocks du jour.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.6%, or 139.09 to 21,970.11 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as 8 of 11 sectors gained; 138 of 225 shares rose, while 86 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.9%.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 12.5%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.8%
* The index advanced 12% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 33% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 17.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.7% in the past 5 days and rose 6.7% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.5 on a trailing basis and 15.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.73% compared with 12.10% in the previous session and the average of 11.98% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 67.4784| 3.0| 47/5
Energy | 27.9207| 0.7| 31/10
Information Technology | 25.3287| 1.3| 5/5
Financials | 20.7088| 0.3| 13/13
Industrials | 7.6263| 0.2| 15/11
Consumer Discretionary | 6.0446| 0.8| 11/2
Consumer Staples | 1.0627| 0.1| 6/5
Health Care | 0.2432| 0.4| 3/1
Real Estate | -2.6777| -0.5| 4/17
Utilities | -5.6151| -0.7| 3/12
Communication Services | -9.0285| -1.2| 0/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 24.8300| 2.9| -23.7| 2.7
Canadian Natural Resources | 17.7100| 2.4| -35.5| 14.7
Teck Resources | 14.7500| 8.0| 203.4| 9.9
BCE | -3.9510| -1.3| 38.4| -7.6
Intact Financial | -4.0730| -1.4| -36.2| 10.9
Cameco | -9.9700| -5.8| 59.2| -6.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks pushed away from their all-time highs amid a slide in a handful of big techs, with traders awaiting readings on inflation and retail sales for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next steps.
Equities struggled to gain traction after a rally that has defied every doomsday scenario on Wall Street.
Despite the pause on Wednesday, the S&P 500 remains in its longest stretch since 2018 without a drop of at least 2%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The current situation reflects the positive drivers that have powered stocks higher since the start of the year: solid growth, prospects for Fed rate cuts and artificial-intelligence enthusiasm, according to Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report.
“This generally positive set-up has underwritten the gains in stocks year to date, although it’s important to note that while the fundamentals are positive, they still don’t justify current valuations, making the market vulnerable to a negative surprise,” he noted.
The S&P 500 dropped to around 5,165, while the tech heavy-Nasdaq 100 underperformed.
Tesla Inc. led losses in mega-caps after an analyst downgrade.  
United States Steel Corp. tumbled 13% after a report that US President Joe Biden plans to express “serious concern” over its proposed takeover by Nippon Steel Treasuries stabilized after an auction of 30-year bonds drew strong demand, in marked contrast to Tuesday’s sale of 10-year notes.
Bitcoin hit $73,000.
Skepticism grew in the face of a sharp rally in US stocks, with the S&P 500 gaining in 16 of the past 19 weeks.
“If the S&P is going to have a strong second half of 2024, corporate earnings growth will need to accelerate,” said Nicholas Colas at DataTrek Research.
Earnings for the S&P 500 grew 7.4% in the fourth quarter from the same time a year ago.
Excluding the Magnificent Seven group of technology giants, profits in the index posted a 1.7% contraction, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.
Colas at DataTrek remarks that while the Nasdaq Composite rally feels like it is slowing, history shows we can still expect reasonably good returns going forward.
The gauge is up over 40% in the last 12 months, more than one standard deviation above the long-run mean of 36%, he noted.
A look at index back to 1972 shows similar rallies after prior outsized drawdowns.
As long as the US economy continues to grow, the Nasdaq continues to generate positive 12-month returns after a return of over 36%, Colas added.
The trading desk at JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects resurfacing goods inflation will make Fed officials less willing to cut interest rates this year — but that still doesn’t dent its bullish view on US equities.
A belated pullback of roughly 5% is possible from “momentum unwind risk,” the team led by Andrew Tyler said Wednesday in note to clients.
However, near-term artificial intelligence catalysts may prevent a material down move.
Traders will get another economic check on Thursday.
Following a hot reading consumer inflation, the producer price index likely rose amid a rebound in energy prices, according to Estelle Ou at Bloomberg Economics.
More importantly, components that enter the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the core PCE deflator — likely sustained some growth momentum from January, posing upside risks to our current core PCE estimates, she noted.
This will be the final inflation report before next week’s Fed decision on rates.
With policymakers expected to hold interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting, economists will be looking for clues as to when the central bank will start lowering borrowing costs.
“We think yields could drift higher in the lead up to next Wednesday’s FOMC decision, especially if PPI surprises to the upside tomorrow,” said Will Compernolle at FHN Financial. “If there really is a collective shrug from market participants regarding yesterday’s hot CPI, the next potential catalyst for rates to set a new anchor will be next week’s dot plot and the press conference.”
To Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers, Tuesday’s CPI results have increased the significance of the Fed’s release of its Summary of Economic Projections, or dot plot, next Wednesday.
Investors are currently anticipating that the central bank will lower rates in June and make an additional two cuts by year-end.
“The Fed’s dot plot will provide insight into how realistic these expectations are with some members of the Fed implying that one or two cuts this year may be sufficient, rather than the three the market is pricing in,” Torres added.

Corporate Highlights:
* The Pentagon pulled out of a plan to spend as much as $2.5 billion on a chip grant to Intel Corp., people familiar with the situation said, putting the onus on another federal agency — the Commerce Department — to make up for the shortfall.
* Dollar Tree Inc. plans to shutter about 1,000 stores in an effort to improve profitability as the discount retailer battles a spate of litigation and other headwinds.
* Eli Lilly & Co. is teaming up with Amazon.com Inc. to expand its nascent business of selling weight-loss drugs directly to patients.
* Adidas AG is sticking with its underwhelming earnings forecast for this year as it works through high inventories of unsold sneakers and apparel in North America, disappointing investors anticipating an improved outlook.
* BP Plc and the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm suspended a $2 billion bid to buy a major stake in Israel’s NewMed Energy as the war in Gaza upends politics across the region.

Key events this week:
* US PPI, retail sales, initial jobless claims, business inventories, Thursday
* China property prices, Friday
* Japan’s largest union federation announces results of annual wage negotiations, just ahead of Bank of Japan policy meeting, Friday
* Bank of England issues inflation survey, Friday
* US industrial production, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Empire Manufacturing, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0948
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2797
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 147.83 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.3% to $73,381.38
* Ether rose 1.3% to $4,003.15
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.19%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.37%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced eight basis points to 4.02%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.8% to $79.73 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,173.03 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Robert Brand, Sujata Rao, Cecile Gutscher, Jessica Menton, Michael Mackenzie and Ye Xie.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The best portion of a good man’s life; his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. –William Wordsworth, 1770-1850.

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

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
March 12, 1755: 1^st steam engine in U.S. installed, to pump water from a mine.
March 12, 1938: Hitler invades Austria.  The occupation of Hitler’s homeland is know as Anschluss, which is the German word for annexation.
2009: Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in New York to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history. Go to article >>

Jack Kerouac, author, b. 1922.
James Taylor, musician, b. 1948.
Charlie “Bird” Parker, musician, d. 1953.

• These are the best countries for wealthy expats.
• Skiers head north to snow-sure Scandinavia as the Alps heat up.

3,300-year-old tablet from mysterious Hittite Empire describes catastrophic invasion of four cities
Researchers think a sacred language inscribed in cuneiform on the tablet suggest the Hittite king visited or lived where the tablet was found in Turkey. Read More.

US government wanted to reverse-engineer alien ships, but never found any, Pentagon UFO report reveals
A long-awaited Pentagon report says there is “no verifiable evidence” of the U.S. government encountering or concealing evidence of alien life. Read More.

More than a third of teens say they spend too much time on their phones
A new study finds more teenagers are craving a social media detox. Read why younger generations are scaling back their tech use.

Scientists discover 100 potential new deep-sea species
Around 100 potential marine species were discovered near New Zealand — including one mystery creature.

Stone Age facial piercings found near wearers’ skulls in Turkey
Archeologists say they’ve discovered earring-like objects thought to be about 11,000 years old. They may be the first prehistoric facial piercings on record.

Most self-driving systems get ‘poor’ ratings — except one
A prominent auto safety group said one hands-free driving system received an “acceptable” rating while most other systems received “poor” grades.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frankfurt, Germany
Stationary trains line up outside the central train station during a strike called by the German train drivers’ union GDL on Tuesday
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

North Yorkshire, UK
Sally Brooker, a conservation intern, cleans a staircase at Kiplin Hall and gardens as the historic house reopens for the 2024 season. Built in the 1620s for George Calvert, founder of Maryland, in the US, Kiplin Hall has been owned by four families over the centuries
Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

​​​​​​​Barcelona, Spain
Runners take part in the 45th Barcelona Marathon. The annual 42km urban circuit is held this year under the slogan ‘make it yours’
Photograph: Alejandro García/EPA
Market Closes for March 12^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39005.49	+235.83
		+0.61%
S&P 500	5175.27	+57.33
		+1.12%
NASDAQ	16265.64	+246.37
		+1.54%
TSX	21831.02	+61.81
		+0.28%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38797.51	-22.98
		-0.06%
HANG SENG	17093.50	+505.93
		+3.05%
SENSEX	73667.96	+165.32
		+0.22%
FTSE 100*	7747.81	+78.58
		+1.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.392	3.349
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.302	3.262
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1429	4.0982
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3030	4.2610

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7411	0.7417
US $	1.3494	1.3482

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4745	0.6782
US $	1.0927	0.9152

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2180.45	2171.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	77.56	77.93

Market Commentary:
📈  On this day in 2009, Bernie Madoff was sent to jail after confessing to one of the largest frauds in history. The former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts in relation to the global, multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme he managed for more than a decade.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.3%, or 61.81 to 21,831.02 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.9%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 3.6%.
Today, 110 of 225 shares rose, while 109 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 4.2%
* The index advanced 10% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 33% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3% below its 52-week high on March 8, 2024 and 16.8% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.4% in the past 5 days and rose 3.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.4 on a trailing basis and 14.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.45t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.10% compared with 12.08% in the previous session and the average of 11.80% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | 24.9966| 0.8| 19/7
Information Technology | 19.0597| 1.0| 7/3
Energy | 17.2566| 0.5| 25/14
Financials | 16.4521| 0.2| 17/10
Consumer Discretionary | 7.0976| 0.9| 10/3
Consumer Staples | 5.9223| 0.6| 7/4
Health Care | 0.0813| 0.1| 2/1
Real Estate | -0.4779| -0.1| 8/12
Communication Services | -6.5364| -0.9| 0/5
Utilities | -9.4235| -1.1| 1/14
Materials | -12.6414| -0.5| 14/36
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 16.3300| 1.9| -31.1| -0.1
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 8.9160| 1.1| 14.4| 16.6
RBC | 8.3260| 0.6| -60.5| 1.3
Telus | -2.2350| -0.9| 5.1| -2.1
Constellation Software | -2.4630| -0.5| 20.1| 15.0
Barrick Gold | -3.6780| -1.4| -19.1| -11.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks climbed to a fresh record as the latest inflation figures did little to alter bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year — even if officials keep a more cautious stance for now.
An equity decline that lasted just a few minutes gave way to are bound that pushed the S&P 500 up more than 1%.
Notwithstanding the fact that the consumer price index continued to show signs of “stickiness,” the overall report came only slightly above economist estimates.
While that’s not ideal for a central bank trying to get close to its 2% target, the CPI was not a shocker to traders dreading another post-inflation rout.
“Fears have been circulating prior to the release for an extra-hot print, which appears to have boosted markets as they failed to materialize,” said Josh Jamner at ClearBridge Investments. “Overall, there should be relatively little market impact from today’s release given it is largely consistent with the prior understanding of the disinflationary process.”
The S&P 500 closed around 5,175.
Tech led gains on Tuesday, with Oracle Corp. soaring 12% amid a spike in bookings in cloud computing. Nvidia Corp. rallied over 7%.
Boeing Co. extended its 2024 losses to almost 30%.
Treasuries remained lower after a $39 billion sale of 10-year notes and a growing slate of new corporate bonds.
For a glimpse of how traders were on guard before Tuesday’s CPI print, consider the CBOE One-Day Volatility Index — a measure of cost in S&P 500 options with maturities of no more than 24 hours.
The gauge closed Monday at the highest level since October, a sign of heightened anxiety.
It has since pulled back, along with its more famous 30-day volatility index known as the VIX.
On Monday, the options market was more concerned about a potentially big S&P 500 move post-CPI than it was about the Fed’s rate decision next week, Citigroup Inc. analysts said.
That was based on a strategy known as at-the-money straddle — when a trader buys an equal number of calls and puts with the same strike price and expiration.
Following a few swings in the immediate aftermath of the CPI results, a relative sense of calm prevailed, with equities rebounding.
In fact, Tuesday’s advance on the back of a strong inflation print marks a break from how stocks have traded on CPI days since the Fed started hiking rates.
A 1% move of in the S&P 500 or larger has only happened on a handful of occasions on the day of the CPI release since March 2022.
Most of the time, however, gains were on the back of lower — not higher — core inflation.
“It’s proving difficult to see what may stop the market’s momentum, as earnings, inflation, and interest rates are moving in the right direction,” said Skyler Weinand at Regan Capital.
The S&P 500 will deliver stronger-than-expected earnings in 2024, powered by resilient economic growth and artificial intelligence breakthroughs, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists — who are now among Wall Street’s most bullish profit forecasters.
The team including Ohsung Kwon and Savita Subramanian raised their earnings-per-share estimate to $250 from $235, tying with BMO Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank AG for the most optimistic outlook among strategists tracked by Bloomberg.
Subramanian last week raised her S&P 500 target to 5,400.
As a flurry of Wall Street forecasters bump up their optimism toward US stocks in lockstep, Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson won’t budge, arguing he sees no justification to upgrade his outlook given an absence of broad earnings growth.
The strategist stuck to his year-end S&P 500 forecast of 4,500 in an interview on Tuesday with Bloomberg Surveillance Radio, even as a growing list of peers at firms including Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and UBS Group AG have raised projections for the benchmark.
“A lot of folks have raised their price targets because of higher multiples,” Wilson said. “We’re not willing to do that.”
The stock market may be rallying, but the yield curve remains inverted — which suggests that there are plenty of investors who are still concerned about economic conditions this year, according to Weinand at Regan Capital.
“While a recession would naturally steepen out the yield curve to positive territory, we think the yield curve can steepen this year without a recession,” he noted. “Investors will eventually realize that we can achieve a soft landing and
that sentiment shift can push 10-year Treasury bond yields back above 2-year Treasury bond yields.”
The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting when policymakers gather March 19-20.
Much of the focus by investors will be on the Federal Open Market Committee’s quarterly forecasts for rates, including whether fresh employment and inflation figures have prompted any changes.
While Tuesday’s CPI reading may breathe new life into the sticky inflation narrative, whether it actually delays rate cuts is a different story, according to Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
“Sticky doesn’t necessarily mean overheating,” Larkin noted.
To Bret Kenwell at eToro, regardless of whether the inflation print is ideal, investors mostly want to know whether they can count on what’s expected — and right now, that’s for a June rate cut.
Swaps are pricing in nearly 70% odds that the central bank will start easing in June and enact at least three quarter-point cuts over the course of 2024.

* 3M Co. named aerospace veteran William Brown as its new chief executive officer, a move aimed at providing fresh direction for a company mired in mounting legal liabilities and a much-diminished stock price.
* Boeing Co.’s aircraft deliveries trailed rival Airbus SE’s last month as the US plane-maker dealt with the growing fallout from an early-January accident that has since plunged the company into crisis.
* United Airlines Holdings Inc. has told Boeing to stop building 737 Max 10 jets for the carrier, opting to switch to a smaller variant and the rival Airbus SE A321 until the US plane-maker can pull the stretched single-aisle through its long-delayed certification.
* Southwest Airlines Co. plans to cut capacity this year, halt most hiring and review its spending plans in response to reduced aircraft deliveries from Boeing Co., the plane-maker facing regulatory and criminal investigations in the wake of a near-catastrophic accident in January.
* Kohl’s Corp. reported same-store sales in the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate, suggesting the department store chain struggled to attract shoppers during the crucial holiday shopping season.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone industrial production, Wednesday
* ECB Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras speaks, Wednesday
* Volkswagen, Adidas earnings, Wednesday
* US PPI, retail sales, initial jobless claims, business inventories, Thursday
* China property prices, Friday
* Japan’s largest union federation announces results of annual wage negotiations, just ahead of Bank of Japan policy meeting, Friday
* Bank of England issues inflation survey, Friday
* US industrial production, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Empire Manufacturing, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was unchanged at $1.0926
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2794
* The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 147.68 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1% to $71,389.82
* Ether fell 1.3% to $3,980.55
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 4.15%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.33%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 3.95%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $77.79 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 1.2% to $2,156.94 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Lu Wang, Felice Maranz, David Marino, Tatiana Darie, Michael Mackenzie and Ye Xie.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
If you  don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.-General Eric Shinseki, b. 1942.

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