Author: Carolann

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.
March 11, 2002: Two columns of light soared skyward from ground zero in New York as a temporary memorial to the victims six months after the Sept. 11 attacks.  Go to article >>

1918: Start of Flu Pandemic.

Lawrence Welk, bandleader, b. 1903.

Oppenheimer wins seven Oscars, including best picture and director.

The case against daylight saving, from a neurologist and sleep expert
While that “extra” hour of sunlight in the evenings can be exhilarating, it comes with significant health trade-offs. Read More.

Archaeologists find top half of giant Ramesses II statue, completing a century-long puzzle
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the upper half of a large statue depicting the famous pharaoh Ramesses II. Read More.

‘Baby quasars’ spotted by James Webb telescope could transform our understanding of monster black holes
Scientists think that by studying a cluster of “baby quasars,” they can get a better understanding of supermassive black holes in the early universe. Read More.

When did humans start wearing clothes?
Clothes don’t survive the way artifacts made of stone, bone and other hard materials do, so scientists have to get creative to answer this question.  Full Story: Live Science (3/11

Resurrecting the woolly mammoth?
Scientists are taking steps forward in their quest to resurrect a creature that hasn’t roamed the Earth in 4,000 years.

5 ways to get out of a fitness rut
If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau in your fitness journey, these tips may help.

Photographer steps inside Vietnam’s shadowy ‘click farms’
These images offer a rare glimpse inside “click farms” that artificially generate likes, comments and shares on social media accounts.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Birmingham, UK
Viking, an Australian shepherd who won best in show, poses for photographs at the Crufts trophy presentation
Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

Silvaplana, Switzerland
The pack of skiers on its way from Silvaplana to S-chanf as they participate in the 54th annual Engadin skiing marathon
Photograph: Peter Klaunzer/AP

​​​​​​​Saint-Léonard, Switzerland
People visit an underground lake by boat. The lake is celebrating 75 years of public access since its opening in 1949. Measuring about 260 metres long and 29 metres wide, it is the largest underground lake in Europe
Photograph: Laurent Gilliéron/EPA
Market Closes for March 11^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38769.66	+46.97
		+0.12%
S&P 500	5117.94	-5.75
		-0.11%
NASDAQ	16019.27	-65.84
		-0.41%
TSX	21769.22	+31.69
		+0.15%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38820.49	-868.45
		-2.19%
HANG SENG	16587.57	+234.18
		+1.43%
SENSEX	73502.64	-676.75
		-0.83%
FTSE 100*	7669.23	+9.49
		+0.12%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.349	3.330
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.262	3.243
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0982	4.0749
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2610	4.2536

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7417	0.7410
US $	1.3482	1.3495

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4732	0.6788
US $	1.0927	0.9152

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2171.20	2153.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	77.93	78.93

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2008, the Federal Reserve agreed to lend $200 billion to Wall Street investment banks in a move aimed at taking hard-to-trade mortgage securities temporarily out of circulation. The Dow industrials surged
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.1% at 21,769.22 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.3%.
Royal Bank of Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.7%.
BlackBerry Ltd. had the largest increase, rising 10.8%.
Today, 120 of 225 shares rose, while 101 fell; 5 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3.9%
* The index advanced 10% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 32% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.6% below its 52-week high on March 8, 2024 and 16.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1% 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 18.2 on a trailing basis and 14.8 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 fell to 12.08% compared with 12.11% in the previous session and the average of 11.79% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 22.5079| 0.3| 18/9
Materials | 18.1649| 0.8| 37/14
Energy | 11.9272| 0.3| 22/17
Consumer Discretionary | 1.7220| 0.2| 7/6
Consumer Staples | 0.8296| 0.1| 7/4
Health Care | -0.2647| -0.4| 1/3
Communication Services | -0.8878| -0.1| 3/2
Utilities | -0.9635| -0.1| 7/8
Real Estate | -2.5196| -0.5| 2/19
Industrials | -4.3688| -0.1| 9/16
Information Technology | -14.4723| -0.8| 7/3
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
RBC | 8.7170| 0.7| -72.7| 0.6
Agnico Eagle Mines | 5.0610| 2.0| 3.0| 3.3
Brookfield Corp | 4.7930| 0.9| -49.3| 6.7
Tourmaline Oil | -2.6620| -2.0| 71.0| 0.5
Celestica | -2.7930| -5.4| 95.2| 51.7
Shopify | -14.4800| -1.7| -57.1| -2.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders found little encouragement to keep pushing the stock market higher at the start of a week that will bring the last inflation figures before the next Federal Reserve decision.
Equities edged lower on Monday, with investors awaiting more clues on whether the recent uptick in consumer prices was just a blip or an indication the disinflationary trend has hit a roadblock.
After closing at record highs 16 times this year, the S&P 500 is showing signs of overheating, spurring warnings for a near-term consolidation.
“It would be natural to expect some fly in the ointment, some monkey in the wrench, to bring investor expectations back to Earth,” said Jason De Sena Trennert at Strategas. “Stock prices, credit spreads, and the price of gold and Bitcoin suggest that monetary conditions are far from restrictive.”
The S&P 500 closed around 5,118. Boeing Co. extended its 2024 slump to over 25% on a US criminal probe.
Meta Platforms Inc. slid almost 4.5%.
Tesla Inc. rebounded.
Treasuries fell, with traders bracing for another flurry of high-grade corporate debt sales.
Bitcoin hit $72,000.
US consumer expectations for inflation over the next three years climbed in February — and increased even more sharply for the five-year horizon, according to a Fed Bank of New York survey.
Those figures came ahead of data expected to show inflation probably abated only gradually last month — illustrating why US officials are in no rush to cut rates.
A survey conducted by 22V Research shows 45% of investors expect the market reaction to Tuesday’s consumer price index will be “risk-off.”
While most are still betting CPI is on a Fed-friendly glide path to 2%, the share of those who think financial conditions would need to tighten rose to 36% from 22%.
While the S&P 500 has fallen on just four CPI reporting days in the past 12 months, volatility is picking up in those sessions this year.
Over the past six months, the equity gauge has moved about 0.8% in either direction on the day CPI has been released, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
That’s the most since April and up from less than 0.5% in September.
“Expect more volatility around those releases as investors continue to determine the direction of interest rates,” said Paul Nolte at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management.
That sense of wariness has also been amplified by signs of an overstretched market.
Not surprisingly, a handful of sentiment indicators are pointing to a growing level of “frothiness,” according to Sam Stovall at CFRA.
Among those, he cites the American Association of Individual Investors’ survey showing an “unusually high” level of bullishness and the CNN Fear/Greed Indicator that recently registered “extreme greed.”
He also mentioned the percentage of S&P 1500 sub-industries above 50- and 200-day averages that climbed to a threshold that typically hints at an overbought market.
“Even though the S&P 500 is due for, and would benefit from, a digestion of recent gains, history suggests not waiting too long before adding to holdings,” Stovall added.
To Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise, investors are likely already incorporating a lot of good news into stock prices and moving ahead of incoming data that supports the soft-landing narrative.
“Stocks are likely overdue for some consolidation or even an extended period of modest declines at some point in the year,” he noted. “Without a meaningful shift in the fundamental picture, we suspect investors would welcome such a downdraft and treat the event as a buying opportunity.”
Moreover, the rally in US equities that began last year doesn’t reflect conditions seen in prior boom-and-bust cycles, such as big gaps between share prices and their values, or the significant use of leverage, according to Bank of America Corp.’s strategists led by Savita Subramanian.  “Sentiment has warmed up on equities since mid-2023, driving our slightly lower level of conviction in an up market, but is nowhere near bullish levels of prior market peaks,” they wrote. “In our view, this bull market has legs.”
Another aspect is that robust profits from some of the tech behemoths have also brought down sky-high valuations.
They remain relatively stretched — but they’re still well below prior peaks.
The “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, for example, trade near their average price-to-earnings ratio since 2015, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The group comprises Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc.
And the ranks of Wall Street strategists playing down concerns around a bubble in US technology mega-cap stocks only keeps growing.
The team at JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the latest to flag that valuations of the seven tech giants that have led the record-breaking rally on Wall Street are currently lower relative to the rest of the S&P 500 than the average of the past five years.
“There is a concern over the very strong outperformance of the Magnificent 7, but we note that the group is currently trading less stretched than a few years ago, given earnings delivery,” strategist Mislav Matejka wrote in a note.
For investors questioning how much further the S&P 500 can be powered by that narrow group of shares, breadth in the US stock market has actually been improving.
While tech remains in the leadership position, an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 — where the likes of Nvidia Corp. carry the same heft as Dollar Tree Inc. — has recently hit a record.
“Market action last week pointed to a broadening of investor appetite for stocks,” said John Stoltzfus at Oppenheimer Asset Management. “This brought a mix of some profit-taking among sectors that have performed exceptionally
well since the start of the year in addition to a rotation and rebalancing into sectors, market capitalizations, and styles that have lagged in performance.”
To Trennert at Strategas, given the high market’s valuations and relatively low 10-year Treasury yields, it is difficult to know how much incremental stock performance can be achieved from current levels.
“We continue to be ‘bullish until the bill comes due —  which we define as higher long-term Treasury yields.”
A bond selloff in February, which pushed Treasury yields to their highs of the year, was due in part to January’s hot consumer price data, which showed surprising strength in core services, an area of concern for the US central bank. Since then, traders have once again stepped up their rate cut bets as economic data reinforced the view the Fed may be able to start lowering interest rates later this year.
The positive outlook for bonds reached a record high in Bloomberg’s weekly client survey.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries will be lower in a month, according to 60% of 238 respondents in the latest MLIV Pulse poll.
That’s the strongest vote on bonds since the survey first started asking the question in August 2022.
The survey was conducted March 4-8 but closed before the nonfarm payroll data on Friday.

Corporate Highlights:
* Boeing Co. sank after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the midair blowout of a fuselage panel on a 737 Max 9 in January.
* Delta Air Lines Inc. expects deliveries of its Boeing Co. 737 Max 10 aircraft could be pushed out to as late as 2027 as the troubled plane-maker undergoes federal safety and criminal reviews.
* MicroStrategy Inc. bought another 12,000 Bitcoin for $821.7 million, the second-largest purchase by the enterprise-software maker since it began acquiring the cryptocurrency almost four years ago.
* Reddit Inc. disclosed further details of what is set to be one of the year’s biggest initial public offerings, with the company and some existing shareholders seeking to raise as much as $748 million.
* US natural gas producer EQT Corp. agreed to buy back former unit Equitrans Midstream Corp. for about $5.5 billion in stock, the latest in a flurry of deals in the oil and gas pipeline industry.

Key events this week:
* Japan PPI, Tuesday
* UK Financial Policy Committee quarterly meeting, attended by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Tuesday
* EU finance ministers meet in Brussels, Tuesday
* ECB Governing Council Member Robert Holzmann, Tuesday
* US CPI, Tuesday
* 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 fell 0.1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0927
* The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2810
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 146.95 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.7% to $72,021.16
* Ether rose 3.3% to $4,035.31
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.09%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 2.30%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.97%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1% to $78.10 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,181.41 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jessica Menton, Matt Turner, Alexandra Semenova and Kasia Klimasinska.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe. –Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865.

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!
Carolann is away from the office; I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

1945 International Women’s Day is 1st observed.
1855 1st train crosses 1st US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls.
The James Webb telescope may have found some of the very 1st stars in the universe
The James Webb Space Telescope zoomed in on galaxy GN-z11, which existed just 430 million years after the Big Bang, to reveal what may be some of the oldest stars in the universe.
Watch the exploding green ‘devil comet’ zoom past the Andromeda Galaxy in a stunning livestream this weekend.
An explosive, green comet racing toward Earth is currently zooming past the nearby Andromeda galaxy in the night sky, setting the stage for some stunning photographs. You can also watch the comet fly past our spiralling galactic neighbor in real time, thanks to a pair of upcoming livestreams.

390-million-year-old fossilized forest is the oldest ever discovered
Fossilized trees discovered by chance in southwest England belong to Earth’s earliest-known forest, new research has found. The 390-million-year-old fossils supplant the Gilboa fossil forest in New York state, which dates back 386 million years, as the world’s oldest known forest.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Athens, Greece
An almond tree blossoms near the Acropolis in Athens as early data shows that Greece has just experienced the hottest winter on record
Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters

Sisteron, France
The pack of riders approach the Rocher de la Baume rock formation during the sixth stage of the Paris-Nice cycle race
Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
London, UK
A ring-necked parakeet munches on the flowers of a cherry blossom tree in St James’s Park
Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Zuma/Shutterstock
Market Closes for March 8^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38722.69	-68.66
		-0.18%
S&P 500	5123.69	-33.67
		-0.65%
NASDAQ	16085.11	-188.27
		-1.16%
TSX	21737.53	-57.03
		-0.26%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39688.94	+90.23
		+0.23%
HANG SENG	16353.39	+123.61
		+0.76%
SENSEX	74119.39	+33.40
		+0.05%
FTSE 100*	7659.74	-32.72
		-0.43%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.330	3.360
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.243	3.253
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0749	4.0827
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2536	4.2424

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7410	0.7432
US $	1.3495	1.3455

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4757	0.6776
US $	1.0936	0.9144

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2153.45	2142.85
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.93	79.13

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1817, the New York Stock & Exchange Board, ancestor of the NYSE, was formed when 24 brokers agreed on a “Constitution” that fixed commissions at 0.25% and set a fine of at least six cents for talking out loud about other subjects while stocks were traded.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.3% at 21,737.53 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 0.4% on Feb. 28 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.9%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.9%.
NexGen Energy Ltd. had the largest drop, falling 8.7%.
Today, 141 of 225 shares fell, while 78 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3.7%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.9%
* The index advanced 6.8% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 28% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 16.3% 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 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$3.46t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.11% compared with 12.06% in the previous session and the average of 11.41% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -25.7997| -0.7| 6/32
Consumer Staples | -14.5036| -1.5| 2/9
Financials | -13.5971| -0.2| 6/20
Communication Services | -4.2983| -0.6| 2/3
Industrials | -3.5591| -0.1| 12/13
Consumer Discretionary | -3.4420| -0.4| 4/9
Health Care | 0.1314| 0.2| 1/3
Information Technology | 0.5885| 0.0| 3/7
Utilities | 0.8161| 0.1| 7/8
Real Estate | 1.6404| 0.3| 16/4
Materials | 4.9936| 0.2| 19/32
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Couche-Tard | -12.5800| -2.9| -8.4| 5.8
Cameco | -11.1500| -6.2| 10.2| -2.6
Constellation Software | -7.5230| -1.4| -45.1| 15.5
Enbridge | 4.6020| 0.7| -15.1| 1.4
Franco-Nevada | 5.5420| 2.7| 203.3| 5.8
Shopify | 11.7800| 1.4| -26.4| -0.3
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders sent stocks sliding on speculation that a rally to multiple records this year is now overdone.
Just when investors were wrapping their heads around a mixed jobs report, weakness in the S&P 500’s most-influential group weighed heavily on trading.
Technology came under pressure, with the Nasdaq 100 down 1.5% and Nvidia Corp. halting a six-day winning streak.
Tesla Inc. extended this week’s slump to 13% and Broadcom Inc. tumbled on slow chip sales.
Warnings about an overbought market have surfaced after an almost 35% surge in the S&P 500 since the start of last year.
Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett — who has taken a more neutral tone on stocks after remaining bearish in 2023 — said equities are showing “abnormal gains” in “abnormal times.”
That’s left positioning “stretched and extended” ahead of expectations for an eventual rate cut.
“There is absolutely zero question in our minds that a decent amount of ‘froth’ has moved into the marketplace over the near-term,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “Investors should use the next week or so to raise some cash and get a bit more defensive.”
Earlier in the day, data showed the US economy continued to add jobs — without spurring a surge in wages.
The figures revived hopes the Federal Reserve will be able to achieve a soft landing, allowing officials to start easing policy this year, but without running the risk of doing that too soon.
“The report didn’t necessarily amount to an ‘all-clear’ signal for the Fed, but there also didn’t appear to be anything in it that would derail its plan to cut rates,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
Treasury two-year yields fell two basis points to 4.48%, with traders almost fully pricing in a quarter-point Fed cut in June.
The dollar saw its longest losing streak since October.
Bitcoin briefly touched $70,000.
The US jobless rate climbed to a two-year high in February even as hiring remained healthy, pointing to a cooler yet resilient labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls advanced 275,000 last month following a combined 167,000 downward revision to the prior two months.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% and wage gains slowed.
Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management — and several other market observers — said the report was “all over the place.” Nonetheless, Shah sees the broad figures as somewhat market positive.
“If the economy can continue to add jobs, without triggering a resurgence in wage growth, the Fed will achieve its soft landing,” she noted.
In other words, this report confirms that the labor market is strong — but not overheating — which means the Fed is still on track for rate cuts this year, says Sonu Varghese at Carson Group.
“Labor is rolling, and wage inflation is rolling over — the Fed is threading the needle on its dual mandate,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group. “No one expected this result, but it’s happening.”
Swap contracts that predict the Fed’s decisions repriced to lower rate levels, implying traders expect almost 100 basis points of Fed easing by year-end.
Last month, these contracts briefly priced in less than 75 basis points of easing this year, down from more than 150 basis points seen early in 2024.
To Gina Bolvin at Bolvin Wealth Management Group, the fact that unemployment ticked up was the biggest takeaway of Friday’s numbers.
She’s among those betting the odds of a rate cut in June are increasing as the Fed would become worried if unemployment reached 4%.
“If we are genuinely seeing the unemployment rate having troughed and moving higher and wage growth slowing, then it obviously pushes the door for rate cuts open wider,” said Charles Hepworth at GAM Investments.
Fed Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said Friday he expects policymakers will lower interest rates this year as inflation cools further.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, testifying this week before lawmakers, said he believed the labor market was “coming into better balance between supply and demand.”
He also suggested the central bank is getting close to the confidence it needs to start lowering interest rates.
Ian Lyngen at BMO Capital Markets says soft wage figures were notable.
“If nothing else, this update on wage inflation reflects Powell’s messaging that the first cut is nearing,” he noted.
About $4.4 billion was pulled from tech funds in the week through March 6, BofA strategists led by Hartnett wrote in a note, citing EPFR Global data.
Cathie Wood says semiconductor stocks may endure a market correction as the supply chain for the technology perks up.
“The one place we could see a correction — and it’s just a correction, we’re not calling it the end of this at all — is in the chip space,” the head of ARK Investment Management said.
Nvidia, the poster child of the artificial-intelligence frenzy that has powered the bull market, lost traction on Friday.
But its scorching rally this year has sent it well above the level where it last split its shares.
Some see the AI giant well placed to do so again.
The company last announced a four-for-one stock split in May 2021, when it was trading at about $600 per share.
The stock topped $900 earlier this week.
The reasoning Nvidia gave for its 2021 split was “to make stock ownership more accessible to investors and employees,” according to a statement.
To be sure, Nvidia hasn’t made any indication that it would split its shares anytime soon.

Corporate Highlights:
* A United Airlines Holdings Inc. aircraft ran off the taxiway into a grassy area after landing at Houston on Friday, marking the third headline-grabbing incident this week involving the carrier’s Boeing Co. planes.
* Apple Inc., facing mounting pressure from regulators in the European Union, has reversed a decision to ban Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. from offering its own iPhone app marketplace in the region.
* Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is set to win more than $5 billion in federal grants to support a chipmaking project in Arizona, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would mark a major milestone in President Joe Biden’s effort to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing.
* Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster drug Wegovy gained expanded US approval to include reducing the risk for heart attacks and strokes, a move that could further widen use and insurer coverage of the popular anti-obesity medication.
* Eli Lilly & Co.’s Alzheimer’s disease drug donanemab faces further delays in gaining US approval, with regulators planning to hold a hearing of external advisers to explore how safe the therapy is and how well it works.

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 1.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0937
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2852
* The Japanese yen rose 0.7% to 147.07 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.8% to $69,219.41
* Ether rose 1.9% to $3,948.19
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.08%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.27%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.98%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $77.93 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to $2,177.71 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Felice Maranz, Liz Capo McCormick, Elizabeth Stanton, Carmen Reinicke, David Marino and Sagarika Jaisinghani.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Shabnam
“The truth is powerful and will prevail.”– Sojourner Truth

Shabnam Mohammadpourmarzbali
Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff
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:
Carolann is away from the office; I will be writing the newsletter on her behalf.

1917 1st jazz record released on a 78 by Original Dixieland Jass Band for the Victor Talking Machine Company (“Dixie Jazz Band One Step,” one side “Livery Stable Blues” other)
1926 The first two-way transatlantic telephone takes place
The conversation between the post office in London and Bell Laboratories in New York was established using a short-wave radio signal.
1996 1st surface photos of Pluto (photographed by Hubble Space Telescope)

James Webb telescope detects oldest ‘dead’ galaxy in the known universe
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected the oldest “dead” galaxy ever observed, at just 700 million years after the Big Bang. The stalled-out relic defies explanation by our current knowledge of the early cosmos.

Woolly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell breakthrough
Scientists at the company Colossal Biosciences have derived induced pluripotent stem cells from elephants, which they say could boost efforts to resurrect woolly mammoths.

1,900-year-old coins from Jewish revolt against the Romans discovered in the Judaean desert.
Four coins dating back almost 1,900 years, to when the Jewish people launched a revolt against the Roman Empire, have been discovered in the Judaean desert.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frankfurt, Germany
Trains stand idle outside the main railway station as drivers of the German GDL union embark on a 35-hour strike
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Shawnee, US
People fish at dusk on a unseasonably warm day in Kansas
Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

​​​​​​​Birmingham, England
Three bichon frise look towards their handler during the first day of the Crufts dog show.
Photograph: Jacob King/PA
Market Closes for March 7^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38791.35	+130.30
		+0.34%
S&P 500	5157.36	+52.60
		+1.03%
NASDAQ	16273.38	+241.84
		+1.51%
TSX	21794.56	+200.60
		+0.93%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39598.71	-492.07
		-1.23%
HANG SENG	16229.78	-208.31
		-1.27%
SENSEX	74119.39	+33.40
		+0.05%
FTSE 100*	7692.46	+13.15
		+0.17%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.360	3.351
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.253	3.239
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.0827	4.1020
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2424	4.2397

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7432	0.7401
US $	1.3455	1.3512

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4733	0.6787
US $	1.0949	0.9133

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2142.85	2134.40
Oil
WTI Crude Future	79.13	78.15

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2001, Abby Joseph Cohen, chief investment strategist at Goldman Sachs, forecasted that the S&P 500 would close the year at 1650 and that the Dow Jones Industrial Average would finish at 13000, and recommended that investors boost their holdings of U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 and the Dow both closed out 2001 quite a bit below her forecasts.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.9%, or 200.6 to 21,794.56 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.6% on Feb. 15.
Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 10 of 11 sectors gained; 163 of 225 shares rose, while 57 fell.
Constellation Software Inc/Canada contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.5%.
Linamar Corp. had the largest increase, rising 11.4%.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain 20 times. The next day, it advanced 13 times for an average 0.8% and declined seven times for an average 0.5%
* This quarter, the index rose 4%
* So far this week, the index rose 1.1%
* The index advanced 7.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 29% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 16.6% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2% 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 18.4 on a trailing basis and 14.8 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$3.42t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 12.06% compared with 11.82% in the previous session and the average of 11.22% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 45.2369| 2.4| 10/0
Financials | 39.5790| 0.6| 20/7
Industrials | 28.6999| 0.9| 16/9
Materials | 26.8331| 1.2| 37/15
Energy | 19.0883| 0.5| 21/17
Consumer Staples | 18.9421| 2.0| 11/0
Utilities | 17.9961| 2.2| 15/0
Real Estate | 5.3706| 1.1| 19/1
Communication Services | 2.1101| 0.3| 3/2
Health Care | 0.2593| 0.4| 3/1
Consumer Discretionary | -3.5289| -0.5| 8/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Constellation Software | 22.6600| 4.5| -12.1| 17.1
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 17.0500| 2.2| 14.8| 15.5
Shopify | 11.1900| 1.3| -36.2| -1.7
Restaurant Brands | -2.9200| -1.2| -39.0| 4.8
Suncor Energy | -3.4370| -0.8| -61.0| 10.3
Dollarama | -3.9090| -1.9| -13.6| 7.8
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks hit all-time highs in the run-up to the US jobs report, with investors betting some of the world’s major central banks will start slashing interest rates as soon as June.
Those wagers emboldened equity bulls expecting lower borrowing costs will fuel corporate profits.
While tech remained in the leadership position, an equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 — where the likes of Nvidia Corp. carry the same heft as Dollar Tree Inc. — hovered near a record.
That gauge is less sensitive to gains from the largest companies — providing a glimpse of hope that the rally will broaden out.
Treasury two-year yields declined alongside the dollar after Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve is “not far” from the level of confidence needed to ease monetary policy.
He noted that interest-rate reductions “can and will begin” this year.
The Fed chief also remarked he could see the case for shortening maturity of central-bank holdings.
Across the Atlantic, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde indicated officials may be in a position to ease policy in June.
Just like the Fed, the ECB is contemplating when to sound the all-clear on inflation and begin undoing the unprecedented monetary tightening deployed to subdue it.
“Risk assets continued to surge after major central bank officials provided the strongest hints yet that monetary policy will be loosened soon,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com.
The S&P 500 rose 1% — extending this year’s advance to about 8%. That’s double the pace of its equal-weighted version, validating concerns about gains remaining concentrated in a narrower group of shares.
In late hours, Broadcom Inc. reported disappointing revenue from its semiconductor business, even as it said AI is helping fuel demand.
Just 24 hours before the all-important US payrolls report, data showed jobless claims held at historically low levels last week — the latest evidence of a resilient labor market.
The government’s monthly employment is forecast to show a pullback in hiring and wage growth in February — after both advanced significantly in the previous month.
Economists expect US employers to have added 200,000 jobs last month.
“Barring any major surprises on the job creation or unemployment fronts, we’re of the mind investors’ primary focus will be on “average hourly earnings’,” said Vail Hartman at BMO Capital Markets.
“After all, inflation outweighs job creation amid the current balance of risks.”
Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, bets the most-important item in Friday’s report will indeed be wages — and if they are climbing too quickly.
If they are moving up too fast, companies will pass this this cost to the end user which is inflationary, she noted.
“The markets have declined on inflationary data, however it has recovered quickly,” Bolvin added. “It’s a constant buy-the- dip mentality mostly because earnings growth and estimates have been strong.”
A survey conducted by 22V Research shows that 50% of investors think the payroll data will be “risk-on,” 34% said mixed/negligible, and only 16% expect a “risk-off” reaction.
Fed Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said that the central bank should be able to start cutting rates later this year, though she first wants to see more evidence that inflation is cooling further.
Global bond markets are facing significant challenges as governments and companies have to refinance about 40% of maturing debt in the coming three years, potentially at higher costs, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
In a report published Thursday, the Paris-based organization estimated that total government debt issued by its 38 member countries will rise by $2 trillion to a record of $56 trillion this year.
“It is clear that pressure is mounting on major central banks to lower interest rates due to the rising debt burden in the US and other developed economies,” Razaqzada also noted.
“Concerns arise over the ability of these nations to sustain high interest rates, as increased debt servicing costs coincide with the potential for an economic downturn, necessitating further borrowing at elevated rates.”
While Lagarde said officials aren’t “sufficiently confident” at present to commence monetary easing, there’s a definite slowdown in consumer prices. “We will know a little more in April, but we will know a lot more in June,” she noted.
The ECB’s latest quarterly outlook offered reassurance, putting inflation at 2.3% this year — from 2.7% in December — and revising the 2025 forecast down to 2%.
Data between now and June could certainly move the dial — but the only “real take-away” from the ECB decision and press conference was to reinforce an intended first June cut, according to TD Securities’ strategists.
“The ECB appears to be on track towards initiating an easing cycle perhaps in June,” said Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial.
“Given the continuing weakness in Germany, the ECB will want to move as soon as is prudent — but will also be led by confidence that inflation has been quelled and moving closer to its 2% target.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Gap Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, a sign that efforts to turn the storied apparel retailer around are bearing fruit.
* US investigators are looking into another incident involving Boeing Co.’s 737 Max airliner, a case in which the plane’s rudder system malfunctioned as pilots were landing.
* United Airlines Holdings Inc. is slowing pilot hiring and suspending training classes for new aviators after pulling the Boeing Co. Max 10 aircraft from its flight plans for this year.
* General Electric Co.’s aerospace division set plans to return more of its profits to shareholders, including restoration of a significant dividend as it accelerates earnings as an independent company.
* Rivian Automotive Inc. is halting plans to build a new multibillion-dollar factory in Georgia, an abrupt reversal aimed at cutting costs while the company prepares to launch a cheaper electric vehicle.

Key Events This Week:
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, Friday
* New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Friday
* ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.6%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
* The MSCI World index rose 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0947
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.2809
* The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 148.08 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 1.8% to $67,699.9
* Ether rose 2.3% to $3,939.05
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.09%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.31%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.00%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $78.90 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,158.86 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Shabnam
“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”– Mason Cooley

Shabnam Mohammadpourmarzbali
Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff
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 6, 1899: The painkiller Aspirin is registered as a trademark.  Acetylsalicylic acid was first isolated in 1897 by German chemist Felix Hoffman.
1912: Oreo sandwich cookies were first introduced by the National Biscuit Co., which later became Nabisco. Go to article >>

March 6, 1836: Fall of the Alamo.

Michelangelo, b.1475.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, b. 1806.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, b. 1928.
Shaquille O’Neal, b.1972

China will launch giant, reusable rockets next year to prep for human missions to the moon
China’s new jumbo-size, reusable rockets are part of the country’s plans to send humans to the moon by 2030.  Read More.

1,200-year-old lord’s tomb laden with gold unearthed in Panama
Tomb believed to belong to a pre-Hispanic royal who was in his 30s when he died discovered in the El Caño archaeological park. Read More.

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ to officially be removed from food packaging, FDA says
New food packaging products sold in the U.S., such as takeout boxes and fast-food wrappers, will no longer contain harmful “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.  Full Story: Live Science (3/5).

King Charles invites Harry and Meghan to coronation
But it remains unclear if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend due to their ongoing rift with the royal family.

Painting recovered by Holocaust victims’ heirs sets auction record
A Kandinsky painting that once belonged to victims of the Nazi Holocaust has sold for nearly $45 million.

Chris Rock tackles Oscars slap in live Netflix special
The comedian saved these jokes about the incident until the last ten minutes of the show.

99% of people got this trivia question wrong
Ready to test your knowledge? See if you can answer some of the most challenging questions from the live mobile game HQ Trivia. Take the quiz here.

RIP
Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last surviving founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, has died, the band announced Sunday evening. He was 71. Rossington was among the Lynyrd Skynyrd band members inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and contributed to many of the group’s most iconic songs, including “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Medellín, Colombia
A tourist poses for a photo on the Pachamama sculpture by artist Jorge Jaramillo and printer Juan David Escandon, who made the 5.5 metre sculpture from 1,500 pieces printed with 3D technology
Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/AFP/Getty Images

Paris, France
Models present creations by Chanel for the women’s ready-to-wear fall-winter 2024/2025 collection as part of Paris fashion week
Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Estadio Monumental prior to the Copa de la Liga derby match between River Plate and Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires
Photograph: Tomás Cuesta/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 6^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38661.05	+75.86
		+0.20%
S&P 500	5104.76	+26.11
		+0.51%
NASDAQ	16031.54	+91.5
		+0.58%
TSX	21593.96	+68.03
		+0.32%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40090.78	-6.85
		-0.02%
HANG SENG	16438.09	+275.45
		+1.70%
SENSEX	74085.99	+408.86
		+0.55%
FTSE 100*	7679.31	+33.15
		+0.43%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.351	3.362
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.239	3.256
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1020	4.1545
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2397	4.2974

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7401	0.7355
US $	1.3512	1.3596

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4729	0.6789
US $	1.0900	0.9174

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2134.40	2098.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.15	78.15

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000: After years of warning that stock prices were too high, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan seemed to endorse the stratospheric prices of tech shares, telling a conference that business investment in high-tech equipment and software had no end in sight. Four days later, the Nasdaq Composite peaked, before it began tumbling in the worst market crash since 1929.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.3% at 21,593.96 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level in at least a year.
The move follows the previous session’s little change.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.4%.
Lithium Americas Argentina Corp. had the largest increase, rising 10.8%.
Today, 152 of 225 shares rose, while 71 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 3%
* The index advanced 5.3% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 15.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6% in the past 5 days and rose 3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.2 on a trailing basis and 14.8 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$3.41t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.82% compared with 11.80% in the previous session and the average of 11.04% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 28.3083| 1.3| 44/8
Financials | 15.0585| 0.2| 16/11
Energy | 8.8620| 0.2| 27/13
Consumer Discretionary | 7.6826| 1.0| 6/7
Communication Services | 5.7974| 0.8| 5/0
Utilities | 4.6640| 0.6| 12/2
Consumer Staples | 3.5505| 0.4| 8/3
Information Technology | 0.6860| 0.0| 6/4
Real Estate | -0.7957| -0.2| 9/12
Health Care | -1.2664| -1.9| 1/3
Industrials | -4.5208| -0.1| 18/8
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | 14.8100| 1.4| -5.8| -4.6
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 7.0290| 0.9| 36.5| 13.0
Nutrien | 5.7680| 2.4| -32.3| -5.0
RBC | -2.9380| -0.2| -43.2| -0.9
Manulife Financial | -3.6710| -0.9| -17.3| 10.6
Franco-Nevada | -6.6820| -3.3| 81.1| 0.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders breathed a sigh of relief, with Jerome Powell once again signaling he expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year — even as a strong economy keeps officials on hold for now.
Stocks and bonds rose as investors took his remarks as a “no news is good news” development.
Investors also kept a close eye on regional banks, with New York Community Bancorp erasing a 47% intraday tumble and closing 7.5% higher on news it was raising over $1 billion in equity to shore up investor confidence.
During his congressional testimony, Powell noted that the risk from commercial real estate is “manageable.”
The Fed chief also said that the central bank is likely to significantly change its plan to require large lenders to hold more capital — a move that would mark a major win for industry giants.
The S&P 500 reclaimed its 5,100 mark, with tech shares leading gains.
Nvidia Corp. closed at a fresh record.
Treasury 10-year yields fell five basis points to 4.1%.
The dollar dropped.
Bitcoin resumed its rally, topping $66,000.
To Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Powell was pretty careful to avoid sending new signals on the direction of monetary policy — “which makes sense” considering the full set of economic data ahead of the next Fed meeting.
Powell’s remarks on Wednesday left intact expectations that the Fed will deliver three quarter-point rate cuts this year.
While traders still see policy easing as early as June, their forecast is more aligned with the Fed’s than it was at the start of the year.
“While Powell didn’t commit to rate reductions in the near future, his positivity concerning the trajectory of inflation amidst confidence that the central bank’s current rate is likely at its peak is enough for market participants,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers.
Separately, Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said he expects the central bank to cut interest rates two times — or potentially just once — in 2024, but emphasized he hasn’t finalized his forecasts for the upcoming meeting.
Central bankers are now grappling with how soon and how far they should lower rates. Cut too early, and officials worry they could fuel a pick-up in activity that keeps inflation above 2% — the rate they see as appropriate for a healthy economy.
Keep borrowing costs elevated for too long and they risk tipping the US into a recession.
The US economy has expanded at a modest pace since earlier in the year, while consumers showed more sensitivity to rising prices, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey of regional business contacts.
Traders also waded through the latest labor-market readings.
A report known as JOLTS showed US job openings remained elevated in January.
Meantime, companies boosted hiring in February at a moderate pace, with private payrolls increasing by 140,000 — while trailing estimates.
“The Fed can afford to sit on higher rates until the labor market starts to crack,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group. “Maximum employment is the stronger of the two mandates for rate cuts, and there is no there, there to force cuts at this point. So, the Fed has a free pass to inflation fight, for now.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Boeing Co. officials have failed to fully cooperate with US investigators looking into how a panel blew off a 737 Max 9 in January, a Senate hearing was told Wednesday.
* CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., a cybersecurity company, jumped after giving an optimistic outlook.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. filed for arbitration to retain pre-emption rights in a giant Guyanese oil field, threatening Chevron Corp.’s attempt to acquire a stake via its pending $53 billion takeover of Hess Corp.
* Fifth Third Bancorp’s revenue is trending toward the top of its previous guidance for the first quarter even as net interest income is likely to come in at the bottom, Chief Financial Officer Bryan Preston said.
* Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts, underscoring the apparel retailer’s ability to maintain momentum despite uncertain economic conditions.
* Nordstrom Inc. is forecasting muted revenue and comparable sales growth this year as sluggish demand at its high-end namesake stores offsets an improving outlook at its off-price Rack stores.
* Foot Locker Inc. reported sales that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, overcoming concerns of a pullback in consumer spending on sportswear.

Key Events This Week:
* China trade, forex reserves, Thursday
* European Central Bank’s rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, trade, Thursday
* President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address, Thursday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee, Thursday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks, Thursday
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, Friday
* New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Friday
* ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.6%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
* The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0898
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2740
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 149.38 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 5% to $66,481.26
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 4.1%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.99%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.2% to $79.08 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $2,146.34 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Isabelle Lee, Elizabeth Stanton and Felice Maranz.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
A problem is a chance for you to do your best. -Duke Ellington, 1899-1974.

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 5,1981: The world’s first home computer is launched.  The British ZX81 sold over 1.5 million units.
2004: Martha Stewart was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she’d unloaded her Imclone Systems Inc. stock just before the price plummeted. Go to article >>
1770: Boston Massacre.

Solar maximum may already be upon us — but we won’t know for sure until the sun’s explosive peak is over
A solar physicist who accurately predicted that the sun’s explosive peak would arrive sooner, and be more powerful, than originally forecast tells Live Science that it may have already begun. However, we won’t know for sure until long after it has finished. Read More.

390 million-year-old fossilized forest is the oldest ever discovered
Researchers have discovered a fossil forest with small, palm-like trees and arthropod tracks dating back to the Middle Devonian. Read More.

Astronomers find heaviest black hole pair in the universe, and they’ve been trapped in an endless duel for 3 billion years
Two supermassive black holes spotted circling inside a remote “fossil” galaxy are the heaviest, and the closest, black hole binary ever found. Read More.

Scientists release genetically modified mosquitoes to fight dengue in Brazil
Scientists in Brazil are releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the environment to combat soaring cases of dengue fever in the country.
Full Story: Live Science (3/5)

Taylor Swift is related to famed poet Emily Dickinson
Her forthcoming album “The Tortured Poets Department” suddenly makes sense.

How to watch the 10 Oscar movies nominated for best picture
Heaven forbid you are unschooled for the post-Oscars discourse!

Jeff Bezos dethrones Elon Musk to become the richest person on Earth again
Just wait a couple of months and they’ll switch again (and again, and again).

Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce’s brother, announces his NFL retirement
There’s probably a Taylor Swift lyric out there for this.

“That’s right, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot keep Trump off their ballots, which means that the Supreme Court remains the only place where Trump can win the popular vote.” — SETH MEYERS

“Yes, the Supreme Court knows you can’t just let states decide who goes on their ballots,” Colbert said. “States are too busy deciding that life begins in the freezer section, next to the pearl onions.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“Let that be a lesson to all you out there who might be thinking about subverting the Constitution in a presidential election. You go, boy!” — JON STEWART

“Speaking of former President Trump, today the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Colorado is not allowed to remove him from the 2024 ballot. Then out of habit, Trump immediately appealed the decision. He’s like, ‘This is a witch — oh, wait a minute, OK.’” — JIMMY FALLON

“Donald Trump had two rallies this weekend, one in Virginia and one in North Carolina. But the two speeches had one unifying theme: His brain is broke.” — STEPHEN COLBERT
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Manila, Philippines
French urban climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spider-Man, climbs the GT Capital building. Robert climbed the 47 floors of the building. The police later arrested him
Photograph: Francis R Malasig/EPA

New York, US
Members of Figure Skating in Harlem perform at the Central Park rink for a gala show
Photograph: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Bengaluru, India
Great cormorants rest as the sun sets at Sankey Tank Lake in Karnataka
Photograph: Idrees Mohammed/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 5^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38585.19	-404.64
		-1.04%
S&P 500	5078.65	-52.30
		-1.02%
NASDAQ	15939.59	-267.92
		-1.65%
TSX	21525.93	-5.14
		-0.02%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40097.63	-11.60
		-0.03%
HANG SENG	16162.64	-433.33
		-2.61%
SENSEX	73677.13	-195.16
		-0.26%
FTSE 100*	7646.16	+5.83
		+0.08%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.362	3.452
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.256	3.339
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1545	4.2150
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.2974	4.3531

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7355	0.7366
US $	1.3596	1.3576

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4755	0.6777
US $	1.0851	0.9216

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2098.05	2049.80
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.15	78.74

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1923, Montana’s Old-Age Pension Law—the first state law providing retirement pensions and that stood up to constitutional challenges—was enacted, setting a key precedent for the creation of Social Security a decade later.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 21,525.93 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.9%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.6%.
Today, 130 of 225 shares fell, while 93 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.7%
* The index advanced 4.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 25% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 15.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1% in the past 5 days and rose 3.1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.8 on a trailing basis and 14.7 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$3.41t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.80% compared with 11.87% in the previous session and the average of 10.87% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -52.9310| -2.8| 0/10
Communication Services | -6.9420| -0.9| 1/4
Real Estate | -3.9598| -0.8| 4/17
Consumer Staples | -0.6862| -0.1| 4/7
Health Care | -0.5782| -0.9| 0/4
Utilities | -0.0243| 0.0| 6/9
Industrials | 0.6326| 0.0| 7/19
Consumer Discretionary | 2.7239| 0.4| 7/6
Materials | 5.5237| 0.2| 25/27
Energy | 24.2899| 0.6| 26/13
Financials | 26.8065| 0.4| 13/14
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points| | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move |% Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -25.1700| -2.9| -28.1| -3.2
Constellation Software | -12.3100| -2.4| -12.2| 12.7
Descartes Systems | -4.3590| -6.0| 91.4| 3.6
Franco-Nevada | 5.9980| 3.0| 79.2| 4.3
Canadian Natural Resources | 9.2320| 1.3| 298.3| 11.7
RBC | 11.8500| 0.9| -62.9| -0.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks came under pressure as a trio of tech heavyweights fell, with traders wading through mixed economic data in the run-up to Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress.
Equities lost traction after a rally that has spurred concern about sky-high valuations — especially in megacaps, leaving the group vulnerable to big moves in the face of bad news.
Apple Inc.’s iPhone woes in China deepened while Advanced Micro Devices Inc. hit a US roadblock in selling an artificial-intelligence chip to the Asian nation.
And Tesla Inc. extended its rout as China shipments slumped.
Bullish positioning in US technology stocks is at the highest in three years — raising the risk of a pullback, according to Citigroup Inc.’s Chris Montagu.
Long positioning in Nasdaq 100 futures is “extremely extended,” he said.
“Trees don’t grow to the sky,” said Kenny Polcari at SlateStone Wealth. “What is starting to concern some investors is whether or not some of these tech companies that have gotten stretched can in fact live up to the ‘lofty valuations’ that investors have placed on them.”
Wall Street also weighed data showing the US service sector cooled — even as orders and business activity picked up.
Caution prevailed, with Powell heading to Capitol Hill for his semiannual testimony before Congress, where the Federal Reserve chief is expected to reiterate the lack of urgency to cut rates.
The S&P 500 dropped 1%, while the Nasdaq 100 slipped almost twice as much.
Tesla extended a two-day selloff to 11%, while Apple suffered its fifth straight loss.
Nvidia Corp. rose.
Treasury 10-year yields fell six basis points to 4.15%.
Bitcoin slid after a record-setting run that topped $69,000.
Gold also hit an all-time high.
The “Magnificent Seven” — comprising Apple, Microsoft Corp., Nvidia, Amazon.com Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Tesla — have powered the S&P 500 to all-time peaks this year, partly fueled by the AI frenzy.
The rally has left strategists scrambling to lift their 2024 targets — while raising questions on whether tech is seeing a boom or a bubble.
To JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Marko Kolanovic, the dramatic rally in US equities and Bitcoin signals accumulating froth — conditions that typically precede a bubble when asset prices rise at an unsustainable pace. Meanwhile, David Kostin at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is among those who argue big tech’s lofty valuations are supported by fundamentals.
The so-called Magnificent Seven saw its average earnings per share rise 55% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Most of that group helped drive the Nasdaq 100 to its fourth consecutive monthly gain.
“The AI craze is a modern gold rush, and the tech ‘picks and shovels companies’ are seeing earnings explode as companies buy chips and cloud space to fuel the boom,” said Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report. “But if AI doesn’t result in increased profitability for the rest of the S&P 500 over the coming years, then demand for AI chips will evaporate as will AI-related cloud demand.”
With generative AI set to be the growth theme of the decade, UBS’s Chief Investment Office continues to believe that US tech stocks should make up a substantial portion of investors’ equity allocations. However, the firm says investors with excessive exposure should consider broadening tech exposure to capture the next growth opportunities.
“While we see further room for the current tech rally to run, we think investors should review and optimize their exposure to technology to protect against potential declines and benefit from opportunities beyond big tech,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“Although we see pockets of speculation and the tech sector could be due for a breather, we don’t see a bubble,” said Keith Lerner at Truist Advisory Services. “Valuations are rich on most metrics, but with tech, comparative earnings momentum tends to be a more important near-term driver. And profit trends remain strong and are at new highs.”
The three-year outperformance of the tech sector to the S&P 500 is just above 30%, Lerner said.
This is roughly in line with the 30-year average and far from the peak of just above 250% seen in March 2000, he added.
“Comparisons to the dot-com bubble should be expected given the concentration of gains in the tech sector and proliferation of excitement around a new technology,” said Ross Mayfield at Baird. “But from 1996 to 1999, the average three-year trailing return was 96%. We are not yet close to those levels. There’s room to run.”
Valuations, earnings trends and market sentiment all refute speculation that an AI-driven tech bubble has reemerged in US large caps, according to Bloomberg Intelligence strategists led by Gina Martin Adams.
“Our theme universe of AI stocks shows sales generally supporting price gains, with multiples in the middle of their five-year range,” they wrote.
“Unless fundamental shortfalls emerge, high-market-cap concentration for mega-cap tech and strong returns for AI may not present material risk to the S&P 500.”
The largest five companies in the S&P 500 trade at less than half the multiples of the “Four Horsemen” — Intel Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft and Dell Technologies Inc. — in March 2000, which surpassed 80 times on a forward price-to-earnings basis, according to BI.
Additionally, valuations appear to be relatively contained across accelerating technology themes — such as AI, future of finance, cloud and robotics — with most baskets trading at or beneath five-year average price-to-sales multiples, they said.
“While we stand by our argument that US stocks are not in a bubble, the confluence of a prospective Fed easing cycle and an attention-grabbing new technology does raise the risk that one might form later this year and into 2025,” said Nicholas Colas at Data Trek Research.
“The easiest way to sidestep this problem would be for the Fed to delay rate cuts as long as possible.”
While stock prices are not part of the Fed’s official mandate, Colas says he’s wondering whether Powell will try to dampen the market’s recent enthusiasm by delivering a more hawkish than expected message this week.
“The AI frenzy combined with expectations for rate cuts in 2024 renewed ‘bubbly’ investor behavior,” according to the GMO Asset Allocation team. “If the projected Fed cuts fail to occur or growth companies fail to deliver on aggressive expectations, growth investors will likely wind up disappointed.”

Corporate Highlights:
* CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. gave a forecast for revenue and profit in the current quarter that topped analysts’ estimates, signaling strong customer demand for the company’s expanding suite of cybersecurity offerings.
* Nordstrom Inc. is forecasting muted revenue and comparable sales growth this year as sluggish demand at its high-end namesake stores offsets an improving outlook at its off-price Rack stores.
* Target Corp.’s fourth-quarter profit beat estimates, as the retailer continued its improvements in inventory management and said its decline in traffic slowed.
* Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger is “extremely confident” that the company will meet its goal of showing a profit in its streaming TV businesses in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.
* A Citigroup Inc. reorganization aimed at streamlining the bank and making it more competitive with its peers has gone swifter than expected, Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser said, as she set out positive guidance for the year ahead.
* New York Community Bancorp climbed after the stock tumbled 43% in prior two sessions after a pair of rating downgrades.
* Zillow Group Inc. fell after short seller Spruce Point Capital Management said it was betting against the stock and highlighted challenges facing the company, including antitrust litigation targeting broker commissions in the US housing industry.

Key Events This Week:
* Canada rate decision, Wednesday
* Eurozone retail sales, Wednesday
* US ADP employment, JOLTS job openings, Wednesday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee, Wednesday
* Fed issues Beige Book, Wednesday
* Fed’s Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis) and Mary Daly (San Francisco) speak, Wednesday
* China trade, forex reserves, Thursday
* European Central Bank’s rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, trade, Thursday
* President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address, Thursday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee, Thursday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks, Thursday
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, Friday
* New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Friday
* ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.8%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0858
* The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.2705
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 149.92 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 7.9% to $62,170.83
* Ether fell 4.7% to $3,415.67
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 4.15%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 2.32%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined 11 basis points to 4.01%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $78.16 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,129.88 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Denitsa Tsekova, Sagarika Jaisinghani, Alexandra Semenova and Yvonne Yue Li.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann
Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering. –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 Monday.
March 4, 1789: U.S. Constitution went into effect.
March 4, 2007:The world’s first national internet election is held.  Estonia was the first country to allow its citizens to vote in a parliamentary  election online.
March 4^th, 2012: Vladimir Putin scored a decisive victory in Russia’s presidential election to return to the Kremlin and extend his hold on power for six more years. Independent observers say the election was riddled
with violations.  Go to article >>

Antonio Vivaldi, b. 1675.

1,000-year-old vessels found in Guatemala held tobacco possibly used as ‘narcotics to induce deep sleep, visions and divinatory trances’
Archaeologists have discovered a collection of pre-Hispanic ceramic vases that contain traces of nicotine, possibly from liquid infusion.  Read More.

Boiling tap water can remove nearly 90 percent of microplastics, new study finds
Tiny plastic particles float inside tap water, and it’s still unclear how they impact our health. But boiling the water for 5 minutes could remove most of these microplastics, a new study finds. Read More

Fracturing Antarctic glacier breaks 80 mph speed record
The Pine Island glacier formed a 6.5-mile-long crack at 80 mph, proving to scientists that some glaciers can shatter like glass. Read More.

It’s been 10 years since Ellen’s iconic Oscars selfie with Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’O and all of their famous friends
Only 10 years?! Whew, it feels like 100.

LeBron James becomes first player in NBA history to score 40,000 career points
I’m no basketball expert, but that seems like a lot of points.

Here’s why Americans drive on the right and the UK drives on the left
It’s “Start a fight between Brits and Americans” time again.

Let ‘Dune: Part Two’ inspire you to revisit these other sci-fi sequels
Not all of them feature big scary worms, but a suspicious amount of them do.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A person uses skis as snow continues to fall in Truckee
Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

White arctic fox pups with summer fur
Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

​​​​​​​Galápagos
Islands, Ecuador La Cumbre volcano erupts on Fernandina Island
Photograph: Getty Images
Market Closes for March 4^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38989.83	-97.55
		-0.25%
S&P 500	5130.95	-6.13
		-0.12%
NASDAQ	16207.51	-67.43
		-0.41%
TSX	21531.07	-21.28
		-0.10%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	40109.23	+198.41
		+0.50%
HANG SENG	16595.97	+6.53
		+0.04%
SENSEX	73872.29	+66.14
		+0.09%
FTSE 100*	7640.33	-42.17
		-0.55%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.452	3.427
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.339	3.317
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2150	4.1798
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3531	4.3275

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7366	0.7372
US $	1.3576	1.3565

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4734	0.6787
US $	1.0852	0.9215

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2049.80	2048.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.74	79.97

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1472, the world’s oldest continually operating bank, the Monte della Pieta (now known as Monte dei Paschi di Siena), was founded in Siena, Italy to lend money to “poor or wretched or needy persons” at 7.5% annual interest.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 21,531.07 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.9%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.0%.
Denison Mines Corp. had the largest drop, falling 4.2%.
Today, 112 of 225 shares fell, while 111 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.7%
* The index advanced 4.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 26% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3% below its 52-week high on March 1, 2024 and 15.2% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1% in the past 5 days and rose 2.1% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 14.7 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$3.42t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.87% compared with 11.86% in the previous session and the average of 10.83% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | -33.2114| -0.9| 20/21
Information Technology | -11.9433| -0.6| 5/5
Consumer Staples | -9.9987| -1.1| 1/10
Communication Services | -9.7148| -1.3| 0/5
Consumer Discretionary | -2.7939| -0.4| 4/9
Health Care | -1.3808| -2.0| 0/4
Utilities | -0.8086| -0.1| 5/10
Real Estate | 0.3982| 0.1| 10/11
Industrials | 1.1292| 0.0| 10/16
Financials | 1.6522| 0.0| 16/11
Materials | 45.3959| 2.1| 40/10
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | -14.8400| -2.0| 152.8| 10.3
TD Bank | -13.7900| -1.3| 0.0| -6.3
Shopify | -8.5040| -1.0| -48.4| -0.3
Bank of Nova Scotia| 5.7270| 1.0| 28.8| 3.3
Barrick Gold | 8.7090| 3.5| -7.1| -12.4
Agnico Eagle Mines | 11.2300| 4.8| 73.0| -2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The relentless rally in stocks took a breather on Monday, with traders awaiting this week’s batch of jobs data and remarks from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the interest-rate outlook.
In the absence of fresh catalysts, equities showed signs of exhaustion after a rally that drove the S&P 500 to its 15^th record in 2024.
Treasuries fell, with syndicate desks calling for $30 billion of new high-grade bond sales this week.
Speaking Wednesday and Thursday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to double down on his message that there’s no rush to cut rates.
Meantime, data forecast to show labor-market cooling should reinforce bets on policy easing.
“If the S&P 500 is going to make this the eighth-straight week it hits an all-time high, it will likely need to hear encouraging words from Powell about rate cuts in his two days of congressional testimony, and avoid any major surprises from jobs data,” said Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley.
The S&P 500 edged lower. Tesla Inc. sank over 7%.
Nvidia Corp. climbed 3.6%, overtaking Saudi Aramco to become the world’s third-most valuable public company.
Super Micro Computer Inc., which will join the US equity benchmark this month, has now surged almost 1,000% in the past 12 months.
New York Community Bancorp slid after Friday’s credit downgrades.
US 10-year yields increased four basis points to 4.22%.
Bitcoin topped $67,000. Gold rose above $2,100.
The S&P 500 saw its 16th weekly gain in the last 18 — something that hasn’t happened since 1971, according to Deutsche Bank AG. If the gauge makes 17 out of 19 this week, it will be for the first time since 1960’s, the firm noted.
“We’re seeing some incredible levels being broken from many different risk assets,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “Some of this is justified, but others are a sign of ‘froth.’ This means that the risks are rising in the stock market, and thus investors need to avoid becoming too complacent.”
Marko Kolanovic at JPMorgan Chase & Co. also see signals of accumulating “froth” in the market.
“This may keep monetary policy higher for longer, as premature rate cutting risks further inflating asset prices or causing another leg up in inflation,” he wrote.
To Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research, the US equity market is likely to push higher until economic data signals a significant slowdown ahead or inflation looks sticky enough to keep the Fed from cutting rates deeply and quickly.
“The market’s relentless rally, in which it embraces even the mostly slightly bullish news and ignores any bad news (known as a ‘Teflon’ market because nothing sticks) is raising this question: Can anything make the stock market decline?” said Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report.   “The answer, of course, is ‘yes’.”
Slowing growth, reduced rate-cut expectations, falling earnings expectations are among the factors that could lead to that, he added.
Nouriel Roubini, the economist known for his bearish outlook ahead of the 2008 global financial crisis, expressed optimism that US growth will remain brisk this year — though that might be a negative for stocks.
“There actually is a serious possibility of what people refer to as a ‘no landing,’ that growth remains above potential and inflation remains sticky,” Roubini told Bloomberg Surveillance. “Paradoxically, the good news on growth may be bad news for the market if that implies the Fed is not going to cut as much and as soon as people expect.”
Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he expects the Fed’s first cut — which he has penciled in for the third quarter — will be followed by a pause the following meeting to assess how the policy shift is affecting the economy.
Powell heads to Capitol Hill for his semiannual testimony before Congress — two years after the central bank began its aggressive battle against surging inflation.
With the economy powering along and inflation inching toward the Fed’s sweet spot, Powell will make the case for why officials are in no rush to lower rates.
Fed officials’ most recent quarterly forecast in December was for three quarter-point cuts this year — and the bond market has embraced that view, based on the prices of swap contracts that reference future Fed meeting dates.
“If Powell says something to the effect that rate cuts will come in the second half of the year, then that can catalyze a move to pricing in two cuts,” said Steve Bartolini, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price Group Inc.
Bets on Fed-rate cuts and the artificial-intelligence euphoria spurred a fourth-consecutive month of gains for stocks — defying concerns that the market has topped after its almost 35% run since the start of last year.
The gains have left strategists scrambling to lift their end-2024 targets.
Bank of America Corp.’s Savita Subramanian was the latest to ratchet up her  forecast for the S&P 500 to among the highest on Wall Street.
She now expects the benchmark to end the year at 5,400, compared with her earlier target of 5,000.
Indicators are flashing bullish signals on stronger earnings growth ahead and “surprising” profit margin resilience, she said.
The S&P 500’s advance to a record high — fueled by a small group of supercharged technology stocks — doesn’t resemble past bubbles, according to strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Stocks with an enterprise value-to-sales ratio of above 10 account for 24% of total US equity market capitalization, versus 28% during 2021 and 35% during the tech bubble, strategist David Kostin wrote.
However, the breadth of “extreme valuations” is far more contained with the number of stocks trading at those multiples down sharply from the peak in 2021, he added.
“This time is different,” Kostin said. “Unlike the broad-based ‘growth at any cost’ in 2021, investors are mostly paying high valuations for the largest growth stocks in the index. We believe the valuation of the Magnificent 7 is currently
supported by their fundamentals.”

Corporate Highlights:
* US aviation safety regulators found Boeing Co. failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements on “multiple” occasions, according to an audit launched in response to response a harrowing near-disaster involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet in January.
* Apple Inc. was hit Monday with a €1.8 billion ($2 billion)penalty from the European Union over an investigation into allegations it shut out music-streaming rivals, including Spotify Technology SA, on its platforms.
* American Airlines Group Inc. agreed to buy 260 short-haul aircraft that include a huge deal for Boeing Co. 737 Max jets, a key endorsement of the plane-maker as it works through a crisis of confidence following a near-catastrophic accident in January.
* Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, said some individual investors saw zero balances in their accounts for the second time in less than a week.
* JetBlue Airways Corp. formally abandoned its pursuit of Spirit Airlines Inc. more than a month after a federal judge blocked the $3.8 billion acquisition on antitrust grounds.
* Arkhouse Management Co. and Brigade Capital Management boosted their offer for Macy’s Inc. by 14% after the retailer rebuffed a previous proposal.

Key Events This Week:
* Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks, Tuesday
* China Caixin services PMI, Tuesday
* China kicks off its 14th National People’s Congress, Tuesday
* Eurozone S&P Global Services PMI, PPI, Tuesday
* US factory orders, ISM services, S&P Global Services PMI, Tuesday
* Super Tuesday in the US, with North Carolina, California, Texas and Oklahoma among more than a dozen states holding Republican and Democratic primaries
* Canada rate decision, Wednesday
* Eurozone retail sales, Wednesday
* US ADP employment, JOLTS job openings, Wednesday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the House Financial Services Committee, Wednesday
* Fed issues Beige Book, Wednesday
* Fed’s Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis) and Mary Daly (San Francisco) speak, Wednesday
* China trade, forex reserves, Thursday
* European Central Bank’s rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, trade, Thursday
* President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address, Thursday
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee, Thursday
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester speaks, Thursday
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, Friday
* New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Friday
* ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann speaks, Friday
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 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0857
* The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.2690
* The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 150.53 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 7.6% to $67,638.91
* Ether rose 3.4% to $3,595.41
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.22%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.39%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.12%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $78.75 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.7% to $2,117.36 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Michael Mackenzie and Elizabeth Stanton.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
During the first period of a man’s life the greatest danger is not to take the risk. –Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855.

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.  Happy 1^st day of March.

March 1^st, 1872: Yellowstone becomes the world’s first national park.
1961: U.S. Peace Corps established.
1974: Former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.  Go to article >>
1999: UN Land Mine Ban.

Harry Belafonte, b.1927.

Items used by Roman cavalry and other treasures unearthed by metal detectorist in Wales
A collection of artifacts found on an island in Wales could be part of a religious offering. Read More.

Striking new satellite images show Indonesia’s new jungle capital city taking shape.
Before and after images show Nusantara taking shape, as Jakarta continues to sink into the ground. Read More

James Webb telescope spots trouble in Orion Nebula: Stellar winds are eroding planet-forming material around a young star
A group of extremely bright stars may be slowly reshaping the Orion Nebula and stopping one of their neighbors from forming planets, new James Webb Space Telescope observations suggest. Read More.

Why do people dissociate during traumatic events?
Ever feel disconnected during a stressful event? That could be your brain protecting you. Read More.

Flying car designed to hop across the Philippines’ 7,000 islands coming this year
The Luft Pinoy is an electric minivan combined with a hydrogen-powered eVTOL system to create a flying car that’s practical for island-hopping. Read More.

Ukraine’s Dead Poets Society. — Howard Chua-Eoan.

Celebrities and tycoons jet to Indian billionaire heir’s pre-wedding bash
Those invited to Anant Ambani’s lavish pre-wedding celebrations received an elaborate schedule of events, including chartered jets for guests and a performance by Rihanna. Just imagine what the wedding will look like …

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark declares for the 2024 WNBA Draft
University of Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark announced she has decided to declare for the 2024 WNBA Draft. She’s also on the precipice of becoming college basketball’s all-time leading scorer.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Canadian, Texas, US
Aud the dinosaur survives the Smokehouse Creek fire
Photograph: David Erickson/AP

A fox jumps into the snow as it hunts near Bingöl, Turkey
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

​​​​​​​Four-month-old brown bear cubs play while their mother eats in Finland. Brown bears generally give birth to two to three cubs and they live with their mothers for up to three years
Photograph: Mediadrumimages/Valtteri Mulkahainen
Market Closes for March 1st, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	39087.38	+90.99
		+0.23%
S&P 500	5137.08	+40.81
		+0.80%
NASDAQ	16274.94	+183.02
		+1.14%
TSX	21552.35	+188.74
		+0.88%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39910.82	+744.63
		+1.90%
HANG SENG	16589.44	+78.00
		+0.47%
SENSEX	73745.35	+1245.05
		+1.72%
FTSE 100*	7682.50	+52.48
		+0.69%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.427	3.490
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.317	3.363
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.1798	4.2502
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3275	4.3789

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7372	0.7364
US $	1.3565	1.3580

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4710	0.6798
US $	1.0844	0.9222

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2048.05	2032.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	79.97	78.26

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1935, the first U.S. savings bond was issued. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau aimed to encourage public participation in government financing by making federal bonds available in small denominations.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.9%, or 188.73 to 21,552.35 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.6% on Feb. 15.
Today, energy stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 171 of 225 shares rose, while 51 fell.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.3%.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. had the largest increase, rising 11.4%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 2.8%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.7%
* The index advanced 6.4% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 29% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is at its 52-week high and 15.3% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.1 on a trailing basis and 14.7 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$3.39t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.86% compared with 11.77% in the previous session and the average of 10.55% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 65.6777| 1.7| 37/3
Materials | 42.3614| 2.0| 42/9
Financials | 25.5353| 0.4| 17/10
Information Technology | 22.5072| 1.2| 9/1
Industrials | 22.1741| 0.7| 19/7
Real Estate | 7.3129| 1.5| 19/2
Utilities | 5.2009| 0.6| 10/5
Health Care | 1.8031| 2.7| 4/0
Communication Services | 1.6600| 0.2| 4/1
Consumer Staples | -0.3725| 0.0| 5/6
Consumer Discretionary | -5.1379| -0.7| 5/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS | YTD
| Index | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | 23.9200| 3.3| 165.9| 12.5
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 11.3900| 1.5| -12.1| 11.6
Constellation Software | 10.2800| 2.0| -10.0| 17.3
TD Bank | -2.2980| -0.2| -7.7| -5.0
Waste Connections | -2.6460| -0.7| -33.3| 13.4
Magna Intl | -2.8470| -2.1| -68.2| -6.4
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The stock market powered ahead amid a renewed rally in technology companies, with traders also sifting through the latest remarks from a slew of Federal Reserve speakers for clues on the interest-rate path.
The S&P 500 topped 5,100 — hitting its 15th record this year.
Traders looked past weak economic data amid bets policymakers will be able to cut rates as soon as June.
US two-year yields sank as Fed Governor Christopher Waller noted he’d like a shift in the central bank’s holdings toward a larger share of short-term Treasuries.
“Market momentum remains intense, with any momentary period of weakness quickly bought by bulls,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. “The bear case has come apart as the technical and fundamentals both support the rally, though elevated valuations and near-universal optimism are things to watch from a contrarian basis.”
The Nasdaq 100 climbed almost 1.5%, a gauge of chipmakers jumped over 4% and Nvidia Corp. led gains in megacaps.
Dell Technologies Inc. soared 32% on solid sales.
Boeing Co. is in discussions to acquire Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc.
Treasuries rose across the curve, with two-year yields sinking nine basis points to 4.53%.
Oil hovered near $80.
Bitcoin rose above $62,000.
With results out from nearly all S&P 500 companies, fourth- quarter earnings look stellar.
Growth was nearly 8%, compared with expectations for a 1.2% rise before the season started.
Those beats helped to offset macroeconomic uncertainty.
Over the past two months, traders have pushed back their bets on when the Fed will start to cut rates.
Fading hopes for easing monetary policy did little to aid equities at the start of the year just as earnings season came into focus.
Some 76% of firms surprised to the upside — outperforming the 10-year average of 74%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence — prompting Wall Street to confidently snap up equities at a rapid clip.
Meantime, the frenzy around artificial-intelligence has blindsided Wall Street forecasters, spurring a race among strategists to keep up with a stock market rally that’s already blowing past their expectations when 2024 began.
Five Wall Street firms have already lifted their forecasts for the S&P 500, which is up over 7% to start the year after rising 24% in 2023.
In the past week alone, Piper Sandler & Co., UBS Group AG and Barclays Plc boosted their targets.
Two firms —Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS — have done it twice since December.
The S&P 500 wrapped up February with a rally of over 5%, extending its winning run to four consecutive months.
Since 1950, whenever the gauge finished higher in both January and February, full-year returns for the index have averaged 19.8%, according to Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial.
“Can the winning streak continue?,” Turnquist said. “March has historically been a good month for stocks as the S&P 500 has posted an average return of 1.1%.
However, during election years, average March returns dip to only 0.4%, with notable historical weakness mid-month.”
A stock indicator from BofA that’s tracking Wall Street strategists’ average recommended equity allocations ticked higher last month, moving closer to flashing a contrarian “sell” signal than a “buy” for the first time since April 2022.
Still, the gauge remains in “neutral,” not “sell,” territory.
Equities managed to gain Friday despite data showing US factory activity shrank at a faster pace in February as orders, production and employment contracted.
Bond yields reached the lowest levels of the day after a large block trade in Treasury five-year note futures at a price consistent with a purchase.
However, the bulk of the move occurred earlier in the session, when weaker-than-anticipated data was followed shortly by comments by Fed Governor Waller in support of slowing the pace at which Treasury securities are rolling off its balance sheet.
He was among the several Fed officials speaking Friday.
Governor Adriana Kugler is “cautiously optimistic” that inflation will cool without a notable rise in unemployment.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic wants to wait to start cutting rates until inflation recedes further so the central bank doesn’t have to go back and reverse course.
His Dallas counterpart Lorie Logan noted it’ll likely be appropriate to start slowing the pace at which the Fed shrinks its balance sheet.
Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee told CNBC officials should keep rates elevated until they’re convinced inflation is on track to return to the 2% target.
His Richmond counterpart Thomas Barkin said markets are pricing in fewer rate reductions this year in response to economic data, not because the central bank is winning a battle with investors.
In recent weeks, many policymakers have indicated that interest rates will remain at a 22-year high at least through the Fed’s next meeting on March 19-20, with the first cut likely later this year.
Officials are watching to see whether January’s surprise jump in consumer prices was a fluke or a roadblock on the way toward lower inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell looks set to echo his colleagues in suggesting that rate cuts are likely to begin “later this year” in his testimony to Congress next week, according to Andrew
Hunter at Capital Economics. But with the downward trend in core inflation still looking intact, that doesn’t rule out a first cut in June, he noted.
US officials are likely to raise their 2024 projections for economic growth and inflation at their upcoming meeting this month, upping the chances the central bank might signal fewer rate cuts for this year, according to rate strategists at Bank of America Corp.
Apollo Management Chief Economist Torsten Slok said that a re-accelerating economy, coupled with a rise in underlying inflation, will prevent the Fed from cutting rates in 2024.
“The bottom line is that the Fed will spend most of 2024 fighting inflation,” Slok wrote. “As a result, yield levels in fixed income will stay high.”
Treasury yields could soon be heading back toward 5% if strong economic performance delays the Fed’s rate-cut plans, according to Capital Group Inc.’s Pramod Atluri.

Corporate Highlights:
* Reddit Inc. is eyeing a valuation of as much as $6.5 billion in its initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter.
* New York Community Bancorp said its disclosure of “material weaknesses” in how it tracks risks won’t require additional reserves for future loan losses.
* Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, alleging they violated the artificial intelligence startup’s founding mission by putting profit ahead of benefiting humanity.
* Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. delayed its annual report and indicated that a “material weakness” in its internal controls won’t have a broad impact on earnings.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.8%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0837
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2656
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 150.15 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.1% to $62,740.66
* Ether rose 2.6% to $3,439.08
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 4.18%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.41%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.11%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.9% to $79.77 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.9% to $2,083.66 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Carter Johnson, Michael Mackenzie, Alexandra Semenova, Carmen Reinicke, Carly Wanna, Sagarika Jaisinghani and Jessica Menton.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.  The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. –Winston Churchill, 1874-1965.

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.

February 29, 1984:  Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced he was stepping down after more than 15 years in power.  Go to article >>
February 29, 2004: The Return of the King – the last installment in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings – receives 11 Academy Awards, tying the record held by Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997).

Why do we have leap years? And how did they come about?
It’s Feb. 29, which means it’s leap day 2024. We may be getting an extra day, but why do we need leap years and how did they come about? Read More.

Copper Age necropolis unearthed in Italy contains skeletal remains and still-sharp weapons, maybe from ancient warriors
Archaeologists in Italy have unearthed a Copper Age necropolis that contains nearly two dozen tombs and a collection of weapons. Read More.

‘Mathematically perfect’ star system being investigated for potential alien technology
A distant star system housing 6 planets that move in ‘mathematically perfect’ orbits has ignited a search for possible alien techno signatures. Read More.

Scientists say dehydrating the stratosphere could be plausible option to combat climate change

A new study explores the possibility of removing water from the air before it enters the stratosphere, where water vapor acts as a greenhouse gas, to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Full Story: Live Science (2/27) 

Oscars announce slate of performers and presenters
Ryan Gosling, Jon Batiste and Billie Eilish are among some of the stars scheduled to perform at the 96th Oscars on March 10.

New images share unprecedented view of how Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon
View photos of the spacecraft directly after its harrowing touchdown on the lunar surface last week.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

San Francisco, US
City Hall is illuminated during a Black History Month celebration
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Gloucestershire, UK
‘Frogs spotted in a garden pond near Coleford.’
Photograph: Clive Mowforth

​​​​​​​London, UK
Deer in Bushy Park in the south-west of the city
Photograph: John Walton/PA
Market Closes for February 29^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38996.39	+47.37
		+0.12%
S&P 500	5096.27	+26.51
		+0.52%
NASDAQ	16091.92	+144.18
		+0.90%
TSX	21363.62	+119.85
		+0.56%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39166.19	-41.84
		-0.11%
HANG SENG	16511.44	-25.41
		-0.15%
SENSEX	72500.30	+195.42
		+0.27%
FTSE 100*	7630.02	+5.04
		+0.066%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.490	3.523
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.363	3.403
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2502	4.2658
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.3789	4.4038

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7364	0.7365
US $	1.3580	1.3578

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4672	0.6816
US $	1.0805	0.9255

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2032.45	2035.05
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.26	78.54

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1988, Wall Street saw a flurry of deals as a junk-bond fueled takeover craze neared its peak. KKR announced a $1.2 billion buyout of Stop & Shop; R.H. Macy bid $5.3 billion for a rival department-store chain; and three corporate raiders launched hostile takeovers.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.6% at 21,363.61 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.4%.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 5.2%.
Lithium Americas Corp. had the largest increase, rising 15.7%.
Today, 132 of 225 shares rose, while 90 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by energy stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.6%
* So far this week, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 5.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 27% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.4% below its 52-week high on Feb. 26, 2024 and 14.3% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 1.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.6 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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$3.37t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.77% compared with 11.70% in the previous session and the average of 10.31% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Energy | 46.9577| 1.3| 28/13
Financials | 42.7003| 0.6| 17/10
Materials | 20.7681| 1.0| 40/11
Information Technology | 9.9945| 0.5| 8/2
Utilities | 6.9907| 0.9| 12/2
Industrials | 3.4982| 0.1| 12/13
Health Care | 0.0987| 0.2| 2/2
Communication Services | -0.5349| -0.1| 1/4
Consumer Discretionary | -1.5028| -0.2| 6/7
Real Estate | -1.8149| -0.4| 5/16
Consumer Staples | -7.3158| -0.8| 1/10
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Canadian Natural Resources | 35.0700| 5.2| 290.4| 8.9
TD Bank | 11.2400| 1.1| 92.8| -4.8
Shopify | 9.2670| 1.1| 31.9| 0.5
Nutrien | -2.8700| -1.2| 149.0| -5.1
Sun Life Financial | -4.0850| -1.4| 162.1| 4.9
Dollarama | -4.4240| -2.1| 153.5| 9.9
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders fearing another disappointing inflation report got a degree of relief after the Federal Reserve’s favored price gauge was on spot with estimates.
Stocks closed at all-time highs as the personal consumption expenditures index added to bets the Fed will be able to cut rates as early as June.
While the PCE remained above the central bank’s 2% target — validating officials’ wait-and-see approach — the data helped allay concerns about a more significant inflation increase.
“For markets keenly focused on when the Fed will transition towards easing rates, this report will help restore confidence that it isn’t ‘if’ the Fed will begin to cut rates in 2024, but ‘when’,” said Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial.
The S&P 500 saw its 14th record this year — notching a fourth straight monthly win.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed almost 1%, with Nvidia Corp. leading gains in mega-caps.
Apple Inc. briefly fell below its $180 key technical support.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. topped $300 billion in value.
In late hours, Dell Technologies Inc. posted earnings that beat estimates.
Treasury 10-year yields were little changed at 4.26%.
Bitcoin topped $61,000.
To Krishna Guha at Evercore, the PCE report contains “no new bad news” on the inflation dynamics, with June remaining a solid bet for the first rate cut.
Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group says concerns about a reacceleration in prices are “overblown”.
And Chris Larkin at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley notes the data may ease some immediate doubts among traders who had begun to wonder if the Fed “would dig in its heels and keep rates higher for longer.”
Treasury yields retreated from near their highest levels of the year.
The move was further aided by jobless claims data indicating labor-market softening — and by anticipation of bond-buying related to the turn of the month.
Also, positioning indicators before Thursday’s data suggested that traders had exhausted their capacity for wagers on higher yields in the absence of new information.
Wall Street also continued to keep a close an eye on Fed-speak.
Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said central bank officials are ready to lower interest rates as needed — but emphasized there’s no urgent need to cut given the strength of the economy.
Her Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic reiterated his view that it will probably be appropriate to begin easing policy this summer based on his outlook for inflation.
Since the hot January consumer-price index data, “officials have generally balanced between acknowledging the heat as unwelcome news — but not overweighting one data point too much — especially given possible distortions,” according to Peter Williams at 22V Research.  “We still need to wait until next month’s CPI data to see if the inflationary jump we saw earlier this month was just a blip, or if it is in fact the beginning of a new inflationary
trend,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance.  “At least for today, it should be all systems go and buyers should re-emerge.”
To Michael Shaoul at Marketfield Asset Management, despite the relief that there wasn’t another upside surprise in inflation, it’s important to note that the “stickier” portions of Thursday’s data were “quite strong.”
Policymakers pay close attention to services inflation excluding housing and energy, which tends to be more “sticky.”
That metric increased 0.6% from a month ago, the most since March 2022.
Costs for portfolio management — which climbed by the most in three years — and accommodation led the advance.

Corporate Highlights:
* Best Buy Co. struck a more upbeat tone about reversing a two-year slump amid soft demand for electronics and appliances.
* Salesforce Inc. gave a lackluster annual sales forecast, but investors were pleased by the company’s continued profitability, a first-ever dividend and an increase in share buybacks.
* C3.ai Inc. reported sales that suggested customers are responding positively to the software company’s new artificial intelligence-based apps.
* Snowflake Inc., a software maker, delivered a disappointing sales forecast and announced that Chief Executive Officer Frank Slootman is stepping down from the role.
* HP Inc. reported quarterly revenue that missed estimates, battered by the ongoing slump in personal computer sales.
* The US Justice Department is scrutinizing the midair blowout last month of a Boeing Co. door plug on an Alaska Air flight, in a move that could expose the company to criminal prosecution, according to a person familiar with the matter.
* Bayer AG plans to add activist investor Jeffrey Ubben to its supervisory board in the latest shakeup at the troubled chemicals and drugs company before a much-anticipated capital markets event next week.
* Grifols SA shares fell the most ever after management said the Spanish plasma maker will generate less cash this year than investors were expecting, dealing a bigger blow to the stock than last month’s attack by a short seller.

Key Events This Week:
* China official PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
* Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Friday
* BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks, Friday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0808
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2624
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 149.91 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $61,956.87
* Ether rose 2.1% to $3,391.7
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries were little changed at 4.26%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.41%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 4.12%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $78.17 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,043.85 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Julien Ponthus, Michael Mackenzie and Jessica Menton.
Have a lovely evening everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Everything comes if a man will only wait. –Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881.

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: Kalevala Day, Finland.
1953: Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes, at Cambridge University. Go to article >>

February 28, 2024: The first Gulf War ends.  The armed conflict had lasted a little over half a year and claimed over 100,000 civilian casualties.

Michel de Montaigne, writer, b. 1553.
Bernadette Peters, actress, b. 1948.

Russian satellite narrowly avoids collision with US spacecraft, and NASA could do nothing to stop it
NASA’s TIMED satellite narrowly avoided hitting a defunct Russian satellite in the early hours of the morning. Read More.

New study finds alarming risks of daily marijuana use
The link between heart disease and marijuana use should be a “call to action,” some health experts say.

Dubai photographer reveals the UAE’s hidden wildlife
When you think of the United Arab Emirates, soaring skyscrapers and modern architecture probably come to mind. But photographer Anish Karingattil is determined to change that. See the stunning photos he captured of local wildlife in the region.

1,000 burials and medieval village found in excavation of abbey destroyed in French Revolution
Excavations at the medieval Beaumont Abbey in France have revealed nearly 800 years of history before the French Revolution shut it down. Read More.

‘Living fossil’ tree frozen in time for 66 million years being planted in secret locations
Wollemi pines — thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago — were rediscovered in 1994. Scientists are now hoping to reintroduce the species in the wild in a conservation effort that could take centuries. Read More.

3 new moons discovered around Uranus and Neptune will be named after Shakespeare characters and Greek goddesses
The International Astronomical Union has confirmed the existence of three currently unnamed moons. Read More.

Super-realistic prosthetic eyes made in record time with 3D printing
Scientists can now 3D print more-realistic prosthetic eyes in a fraction of the time and effort required by traditional approaches. Read More.

“Former President Trump is set on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border. I’m guessing to make a break for it?” — SETH MEYERS

“Biden and Trump are scheduled to visit the border in Texas on Thursday. Both of them. They will both be at the border. And if they can get two more senior citizens to go with them, they’ve got themselves a pickleball match.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“The president is going to see what can be done to solve the border crisis. Trump is going to make sure he doesn’t solve what’s happening at the border. Biden is planning to meet with U.S. border agents, while Trump is planning to sell golden high-tops on the streets of Juárez.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“If you think these two guys are confused now, wait till they spend a few hours in 100-degree heat.” — JIMMY FALLON

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Frankfurt, Germany
A man drives his scooter on the outskirts of the city as the sun rises
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Greater Manchester, UK
A drone view of a rainbow behind Rochdale town hall and the Seven Sisters residential tower blocks before the upcoming parliamentary byelection
Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

​​​​​​​Alabama, US
‘Early morning calm over Mobile Bay.’
Photograph: Mark Adams
Market Closes for February 28^th, 2024

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38949.02	-23.39
		-0.06%
S&P 500	5069.76	-8.42
		-0.17%
NASDAQ	15947.74	-87.56
		-0.55%
TSX	21243.77	-75.13
		-0.35%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	38902.15	-305.88
		-0.78%
HANG SENG	16536.85	-253.95
		-1.51%
SENSEX	72304.88	-790.34
		-1.08%
FTSE 100*	7624.98	-58.04
		-0.76%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.523	3.553
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.403	3.414
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.2658	4.3032
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4038	4.4269

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7365	0.7391
US $	1.3578	1.3530

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4714	0.6796
US $	1.0838	0.9227

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2035.05	2027.20
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.54	78.87

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1827, the company behind the Baltimore and Ohio railroad was incorporated, giving rise to an industry that would provide extraordinary growth in the decades to come.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the third day, dropping 0.4%, or 75.13 to 21,243.77 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.0%.
SSR Mining Inc. had the largest drop, falling 7.9%.
Today, 136 of 225 shares fell, while 89 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.1%
* The index advanced 5.1% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 27% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1% below its 52-week high on Feb. 26, 2024 and 13.7% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.3% in the past 5 days and rose 0.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.5 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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$3.38t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 11.70% compared with 12.27% in the previous session and the average of 10.24% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | -19.2970| -0.6| 8/18
Financials | -16.7461| -0.3| 10/17
Information Technology | -9.8269| -0.5| 3/7
Materials | -8.9090| -0.4| 18/34
Consumer Staples | -7.8720| -0.8| 5/6
Real Estate | -5.4452| -1.1| 4/17
Communication Services | -5.0582| -0.7| 1/4
Utilities | -5.0200| -0.6| 9/6
Energy | -2.9220| -0.1| 20/21
Health Care | -0.2726| -0.4| 3/1
Consumer Discretionary | 6.2536| 0.8| 8/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -9.1000| -1.0| -31.6| -0.6
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -7.7530| -1.0| -19.4| 10.0
Couche-Tard | -7.2720| -1.7| 11.7| 8.4
Restaurant Brands | 3.5780| 1.6| -19.5| 0.3
Suncor Energy | 4.1650| 1.0| 12.5| 8.3
National Bank of Canada | 5.6760| 2.3| 79.3| 5.0
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street traders bracing for key inflation data waded through mixed economic figures and remarks from Federal Reserve speakers for clues on the interest-rate outlook.
Equities saw small losses after a report showed the US economy expanded at a slower rate at the end of last year as a downward revision to inventories masked stronger household spending and investment.
The data — seen as “uneventful” by many investors — came just 24 hours before the release of the Fed’s favored inflation gauge.
Following a jump in both the consumer and the producer price indexes, Thursday’s core personal consumption expenditures gauge will likely highlight the bumpy path the central bank faces in achieving its 2% target.
The PCE is seen validating recent commentary from officials showing no rush to ease monetary policy.
“The recent data is ‘noise’ and should be ignored outside of its impact for very short-term market movements,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. “We are more interested in the PCE data.”
The S&P 500 fell to around 5,070. Nvidia Corp. extended its decline from a record.
Apple Inc. dropped, but remained above its $180 technical support.
Tesla Inc. rose.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. sank on news reports that the US Department of Justice initiated an antitrust probe.
Bitcoin pushed past $60,000 in a rally fueled mostly by the launch of US exchange-traded funds holding the token this year.
Treasury 10-year yields slid four basis points to 4.26%.
Three Fed officials said the pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming economic data.
Boston Fed President Susan Collins and New York’s John Williams said the first cut will likely be appropriate “later this year,” while Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic said he’s currently penciling in a cut for sometime this summer.
Treasuries are on track for a second consecutive monthly loss after hotter-than-expected inflation figures curbed Fed wagers.
Traders are currently pricing around 80 basis points of easing by year-end — almost in line with what officials in December indicated as the likeliest outcome.
That would equate to three cuts in 2024 — as the Fed moves have historically been increments of 25 basis points.
To put things in perspective, swaps were projecting almost 150 basis points of cuts this year at the start of February.
To Matt Maley at Miller Tabak, given that long-term Treasury yields have shown significant signs that they have seen a change in trend to the upside this year, Thursday’s inflation data could still shake things up before the week is over.
“If tomorrow’s inflation data pushes yields higher, it just might cause stock investors to finally react to this year’s change in trend in bond yields,” Maley noted.
Bolstered by bets on lower rates and the artificial-intelligence euphoria, equities have posted successive records since the start of 2024 and are now heading toward their fourth consecutive monthly advance.
Such optimism has spurred warnings about either a consolidation or a pullback at this stage.
“We believe there are valuation concerns throughout the markets,” said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer at the Bahnsen Group. “Markets are pricing in unrealistic earnings growth at this point. It is just hard for us to rationalize
entering the indexes at these levels.”
Bahnsen also notes that investors should be “prudent and selective” — avoiding a strategy that simply buys the stocks that go up.
“We expect market breadth to increase,” he added. “The only question is whether or not it increases from the top 5-10 names underperforming or the currently underperforming components of the market increasing — or some combination thereof.”
US stocks have reached a significant inflection point — poised to either “top out or broaden out,” according to Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler.
Technical evidence suggests the next 10% move in the equity market is likely lower than higher, he added.
“We continue to observe overall poor market breadth,” Johnson noted. “A broadening out will favor the financial and healthcare sectors as they are among the largest weightings in the Russell 2000. A topping out would likely result from profit-taking in the ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks.”
While valuations are higher for the “Magnificent Seven” mega-caps, they are warranted for the group delivering earnings growth that’s “significantly better” than the remaining companies in the S&P 500, according to  Marc Dizard at PNC.
The cohort — which includes giants Nvidia Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. — saw its average earnings per share rise 55% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Right now, the Magnificent Seven names aren’t an area I would over concentrate, but I wouldn’t want to neglect them in a portfolio either,” Dizard said. “So certainly have, and maintain, an exposure to these names – but keep it in context of a more broadly diversified portfolio.”
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Scott Rubner — who recently dubbed Nvidia “the most important stock on planet earth” ahead of its blockbuster earnings — says it has proved impossible to call the peak in this euphoric US stock market.
Retail traders have been lured into this rally just as a Goldilocks scenario — where the economy is running neither too hot nor too cold — has been playing out, prompting analysts quickly to upgrade their year-end targets, Rubner wrote.
March is now a “fuller house” and the rally is “tired,” however there is no catalyst for a potential selloff, he said.

Corporate Highlights:
* Apple Inc. shareholders rejected a labor-backed request for an artificial intelligence transparency report, which would have delved into whether the company is using the technology ethically.
* Microsoft Corp. said it’s investigating reports that its Copilot chatbot is generating responses that users have called bizarre, disturbing and, in some cases, harmful.
* Nvidia Corp. insiders stepped up stock sales after the chipmaker’s blowout earnings report last week sent shares soaring to another record.
* Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, experienced a spate of outages Wednesday on its retail platform.
* US regulators issued an ultimatum to Boeing Co. in the wake of a near-catastrophic accident last month, giving the US plane manufacturer 90 days to devise a plan to fix what it called “systemic” quality-control issues.
* Walt Disney Co. and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate have signed a binding pact to merge their media operations in India, creating a sector behemoth valued at $8.5 billion in one of the world’s fastest-growing entertainment markets.
* Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit persuaded a California judge to slash by more than 90% a $332 million jury award to a former land surveyor who blamed his cancer on the company’s Roundup weedkiller.

Key Events This Week:
* Germany CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US consumer income, PCE deflator, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, Raphael Bostic and Loretta Mester speak, Thursday
* China official PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
* Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Friday
* BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks, Friday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly speak, 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 0.5%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro was little changed at $1.0838
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2660
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 150.69 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 6.4% to $60,389.51
* Ether rose 1.5% to $3,298.7
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.26%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.46%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.18%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $78.43 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,033.82 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Carly Wanna and Thyagaraju Adinarayan.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. –Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900.

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:
February 27,1932: The neutron is discovered.  English physicist James Chadwick was later awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery.
February 27, 1997: Legislation banning most handguns in Britain went into effect.  Go to article >>

Henry W. Longfellow, b.1807
Rudolph Steiner, philosopher, b.1861.
Joanne Woodward, actress, b. 1930
Elizabeth Taylor, actress, b.1932
Ralph Nader, b.1934.

Mexico City could be just months away from running out of drinking water
Record droughts have been draining Mexico City’s aquifers faster than they can be replenished, placing the city at risk of severe water shortages. Read More.

‘Finally, we have the evidence’: James Webb telescope spots neutron star hiding in wreckage of famous 1987 supernova
A neutron star spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope stayed hidden for 37 years while lurking in the wreckage of a stellar explosion, Supernova 1987A. Read More.

1st US spacecraft on moon in 50 years tipped over and face-planted near a crater
Despite tipping over, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft has still completed the key tasks of its mission.
Full Story: Live Science (2/26)

Owner of real ‘Saltburn’ house inundated with visitors
A TikToker recently showed viewers where to find the real house featured in the hit movie “Saltburn.” Now, the property owner said he’s been forced to hire extra security as crowds of people are showing up.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

London, UK
Self-portrait at the Crossroads Between the Arts of Music and Painting, by Angelica Kauffman, 1794. A new exhibition at the Royal Academy in London explores the Swiss painter’s life and work
Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

Suqian, China
Hongze Lake is the fifth-largest freshwater lake in China, and a scenic spot in Jiangsu province
Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

​​​​​​​Barcelona, Spain
People play a video game with virtual reality headsets at the Mobile World Congress
Photograph: Bruna Casas/Reuters

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	38972.41	-96.82
		-0.25%
S&P 500	5078.18	+8.65
		+0.17%
NASDAQ	16035.30	+59.05
		+0.37%
TSX	21318.90	-5.41
		-0.03%

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	39239.52	+5.81
		+0.01%
HANG SENG	16790.80	+156.06
		+0.94%
SENSEX	73095.22	+305.09
		+0.42%
FTSE 100*	7683.02	-1.28
		-0.02%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	3.553	3.493
CND. 30 Year Bond	3.414	3.353
U.S.    10 Year Bond	4.3032	4.2795
U.S. 30 Year Bond	4.4269	4.3942

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.7391	0.7405
US $	1.3530	1.3504

 

Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.4674	0.6815
US $	1.0845	0.9221

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2027.20	2027.45
Oil
WTI Crude Future	78.87	77.58

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1891, David Sarnoff, future president of Radio Corp. of America and the greatest visionary of the radio and television industries, was born in Uzlian, Russia.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 21,318.90 in Toronto.
Bank of Montreal contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.6%.
Africa Oil Corp. had the largest drop, falling 8.3%.
Today, 73 of 225 shares fell, while 143 rose; 4 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 1.4%
* The index advanced 5.2% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 27% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.6% below its 52-week high on Feb. 26, 2024 and 14.1% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.5% in the past 5 days and rose 0.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.6 on a trailing basis and 17.1 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$3.38t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.27% compared with 12.40% in the previous session and the average of 10.18% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -24.2145| -0.4| 16/10
Industrials | -6.6525| -0.2| 15/11
Information Technology | -5.6194| -0.3| 7/3
Materials | -2.5819| -0.1| 27/22
Real Estate | 0.2991| 0.1| 10/8
Utilities | 0.8597| 0.1| 11/4
Health Care | 1.2522| 1.9| 4/0
Consumer Staples | 2.7296| 0.3| 8/3
Communication Services | 3.4707| 0.5| 5/0
Consumer Discretionary | 4.5278| 0.6| 10/3
Energy | 20.4942| 0.6| 30/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Bank of Montreal | -22.7800| -3.6| 135.9| -6.7
RBC | -10.7900| -0.8| 6.2| -2.1
Shopify | -9.3530| -1.1| -32.6| 0.5
Magna Intl | 3.8170| 2.9| 114.6| -5.4
Brookfield Corp | 7.3980| 1.3| 75.8| 5.0
Bank of Nova Scotia| 17.1100| 3.2| 241.5| 2.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street saw another busy session of bond sales as issuers looked to borrow before key economic data later this week.
Treasuries were mixed after a $42 billion auction of seven-year notes and a heavy slate of new corporate debt.
Seven more issuers came forward to sell US investment-grade bonds, building off Monday’s surge that saw the most deals in a single day so far this year.
Investors are contending with an erosion in expectations for how much the Federal Reserve will lower rates and an onslaught of new corporate issuance that has given yield-seeking investors ample alternatives.
Traders no longer expect the Fed to cut rates by more than 75 basis points in 2024, bringing their view in line with what policymakers have indicated as the likeliest outcome.
“We continue to recommend investors act soon to lock in currently attractive bond yields,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “We particularly like the five-year duration segment of quality bonds, as this part of the yield curve offers the best combination of high yields, stability, and sensitivity to falling interest-rate expectations.”
Shorter-term Treasuries outperformed longer ones.
The S&P 500 edged higher.
Mega-caps were mixed, with Apple Inc. up and Nvidia Corp. down.
Macy’s Inc. climbed on plans to close almost a third of its namesake US locations.
Chevron Corp. and Hess Corp. slipped after Exxon Mobil Corp. said it’s considering a move that could break up the companies’ $53 billion merger and increase its share of Guyana’s giant offshore oil reserves.
Bitcoin hovered near $57,000.
Traders refrained from making big bets ahead of Thursday’s inflation data and a parade of central bank speakers.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman repeated her expectation that inflation will continue to decline further with interest rates held at their current level — but said it’s too soon to begin rate cuts — joining a raft of officials stressing they’re in no rush to lower borrowing costs.
The personal consumption expenditures price index will likely validate that stance and possibly further diminish market expectations for a rate cut in the coming months.
“Because market expectations for a Fed cut this quarter have already reset, we don’t anticipate strong volatility resulting from this data print,” said Lauren Goodwin at New York Life Investments. “However, since market activity is likely to be heavily driven by interest-rate expectations for the foreseeable future, we are watching closely for any surprises.”
To Yung-Yu Ma at BMO Wealth Management, while the equity market seems due for a pause and a consolidation of its recent gains, key PCE inflation data could be the next short-term catalyst for the market, as investors are looking for additional data to help confirm if inflation is truly re-accelerating.
“This is a ‘teflon’ stock market, which has shown a remarkable ability to shake off bad news and focus on what is positive,” he noted. “Nothing bad has been able to stick to the markets for long – such as upside surprises in inflation data and delayed Fed rate cut expectations.”
Calm stock markets have dampened demand for hedges tied to the S&P 500.
The three-month 25-delta put skew – a measure of the price of put options relative to equivalent calls – dropped to its lowest level since 2006, underscoring the limited demand for hedging against declines, and the fear of missing out on further rallies.
Barclays Plc was the latest bank to ramp up its year-end target on the S&P 500 — following increases from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS Group AG, and Piper Sandler & Co. Strategists led by Venu Krishna boost forecast on US equity benchmark to 5,300 from 4,800.
“The US economy continues to defy rates headwinds in 2024, much as mega​-​cap tech continues to defy even the most bullish earnings targets,” they wrote.
Indeed, the “Magnificent Seven” group of tech mega-caps saw its average earnings per share rise 55% in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Most of that group has helped power the Nasdaq 100 to a record high and its fourth consecutive monthly gain.
S&P 500 companies are headed for their highest quarterly earnings beat rate since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Gina Martin Adams and Wendy Soong.
With more than 90% of S&P 500 companies having reported results, the gauge is on track for 7.7% year-on-year earnings per share growth, blowing past the pre-season forecast for 1.2%.
To Kristina Hooper at Invesco, there is a perception that the US stock market is trading at very lofty valuations.
While it is true that the S&P 500 is at an above-average price-to-earnings ratio, much of that is driven by just a few stocks, she noted.
“The good news is that this narrow group of stocks — dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” — have been meeting the high expectations set for them,” Hooper said. “Given their collective performance, valuations for the Magnificent Seven remain elevated compared to the broader US equity market, but their earnings growth is expected to be almost five times that of the remaining 493 stocks in the S&P 500 over the next years.”
“This isn’t ‘irrational exuberance’ — it’s more like ‘rational exuberance,’ she concluded.
Matt Maley at Miller Tabak has a word of caution.
He says that after the big run in equities, the market is showing signs of froth.
While that doesn’t mean stocks will roll over in a big way soon, it is a reason for investors to avoid being too complacent.
“The stock market could easily continue to advance,” Maley noted. “However, we believe that it’s important for investors to remain nimble and to have a plan in place — in advance — for what they will do if some sort of significant ‘surprise’ creates a big increase in volatility at some point in the coming months.”

Corporate Highlights:
* Viking Therapeutics Inc. more than doubled after results from a mid-stage trial suggested the biotech company may field a viable competitor to weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S.
* Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. climbed after issuing guidance ahead of expectations amid strong demand for its sailings.
* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. ended its pursuit of a merger with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Global, CNBC reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
* Apple Inc. is canceling a decadelong effort to build an electric car, according to people with knowledge of the matter, abandoning one of the most ambitious projects in the history of the company.
* American Airlines Group Inc. is closing in on an order for about 100 narrowbody jets split between Airbus SE and Boeing Co., with the European plane-maker likely to secure the larger part of the commitment, according to people familiar with the talks.
* Capital One Financial Corp. predicted the time and expenses needed to fix Discover Financial Services’ regulatory challenges will be at the high end of what’s expected, or even beyond.
* ASM International NV projected revenue this quarter that fell far below market expectations, signaling that the Dutch chip-equipment maker is continuing to grapple with an uneven recovery in global demand for semiconductors.

Key Events This Week:
* Reserve Bank of New Zealand policy decision, Wednesday
* Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Wednesday
* US wholesale inventories, GDP, Wednesday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic, Susan Collins and John Williams speak, Wednesday
* G-20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meet in Sao Paulo, Wednesday through Thursday
* Germany CPI, unemployment, Thursday
* US consumer income, PCE deflator, initial jobless claims, Thursday
* Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, Raphael Bostic and Loretta Mester speak, Thursday
* China official PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
* Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Friday
* BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks, Friday
* US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro was little changed at $1.0844
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2681
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 150.51 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 4.3% to $57,007.51
* Ether rose 2.2% to $3,254.49
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.31%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.46%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.20%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $78.65 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Carly Wanna, Alexandra Semenova, Isabelle Lee, Carmen Reinicke and Elizabeth Stanton.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Some people look for a beautiful place.  Others make a place beautiful. –Inayat Khan, 1882-1927.

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