Category: Events

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
Wish upon a shooting star tonight:
Earth passes through cosmic debris all year long as it revolves around the sun. The results are meteor showers that can light up night skies. Tonight, the Perseids are putting on a show. The meteor shower is active from July 17 to Aug. 26 and will peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Here’s how to watch.  The Perseids, seen above in 2018, occur when Earth runs into debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, a 17-mile wide dirty snowball that takes about 133 years to orbit the sun. The moon will be about half full tonight, which could interfere with viewing in some places, but usually between 160 and 200 meteors dazzle the night sky every hour during the display’s peak. -The New York Times.

Here’s how to watch the Perseid meteor shower
When everything on Earth is chaos, just look to the flaming rocks above. –CNN 

Night of the Shooting stars. –Bloomberg.

Tuscany’s medieval “wine windows” are back in use during the pandemic. (h/t Ellen Kominers)-Bloomberg.

Stop procrastinating, maybe later. –Bloomberg.

Visit the shores of Cape Cod, where oyster farming is a way of life. –The NY Times.

On Aug. 11, 1965, deadly rioting and looting broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles. Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Morning fog shrouds lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center as the sum rises in New York City as a man runs through the 9/11 Empty Sky Memorial in Jersey City, New Jersey
CREDIT: GARY HERSHORN/GETTY IMAGES

The Mayflower II makes its way through the Cape Cod Canal on its way to its homeport in Plymouth, Mass.
CREDIT: MERRILY/ CAPE COD TIMES VIA AP

Wildebeests (Connochaetes taurinus) cross the Mara river during their migration to the greener pastures, between the Maasai Mara game reserve and the open plains of the Serengeti, Southwest of Nairobi, in the Maasai Mara game reserve, Kenya
CREDIT: REUTERS/THOMAS MUKOYA

Mount Sinabung spews thick ash and smoke into the sky in Karo, North Sumatra
CREDIT: ANTO SEMBIRING/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for August 11^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27686.91	+4.90
		+0.21%
S&P 500	3333.67	-26.80
		-0.80%
NASDAQ	10782.824	-185.532 -1.69%
TSX	16488.86	-116.64
		-0.70%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22750.24	+420.30
		+1.88%
HANG SENG	24890.68	+513.25
		+2.11%
SENSEX	38407.01	+224.93
		+0.59%
FTSE 100*	6154.34	+103.75 +1.71%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.570	0.494
CND. 30 Year Bond	1.066	0.978
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.6382	0.5788
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.3297	1.2544

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75199	0.74886
US $	1.32981	1.33537
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56095	0.64063
US $	1.17382	0.85192

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2044.50	2031.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.61	41.94

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1928, accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Herbert Hoover declared: “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.  The poorhouse is vanishing from among us… We shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from the nation.” Unfortunately, just over one year later, the Great Depression arrived, proving Hoover tragically wrong.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell, led by mining stocks weighed down by gold and silver’s decline.
The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.7% in Toronto after rising on Monday. The precious metal miners tumbled after the price of gold tumbled as bond yields spiked higher.
In the deals front, Brookfield Asset Management’s infrastructure arm is in talks to acquire Blackstone’s minority stake in liquefied natural gas terminal operator Cheniere Energy Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.70 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 5.7% to ~$1,912.69 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.3% to C$1.3308 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 7 basis points to 0.567%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.7 percent at 16,497.01 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.8 percent on July 31 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.4 percent.
Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 4 of 11 sectors lost; 118 of 221 shares fell, while 98 rose. Barrick Gold Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 9.0 percent. First Majestic Silver Corp. had the largest drop, falling 12.0 percent.
Insights
* The index advanced 1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.8 on a trailing basis and 24.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.54t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.75 percent compared with 10.85 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.32 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -151.6285| -5.9| 7/43
Information Technology| -35.9340| -2.2| 1/9
Health Care | -4.0066| -2.4| 2/7
Utilities | -3.6886| -0.4| 5/11
Energy | 0.6918| 0.0| 9/14
Consumer Staples | 0.9890| 0.1| 6/5
Real Estate | 1.1903| 0.2| 17/8
Industrials | 3.3971| 0.2| 15/13
Consumer Discretionary| 5.5426| 1.0| 7/5
Communication Services| 6.9167| 0.8| 7/0
Financials | 68.0369| 1.5| 22/3
US
By Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks turned sharply lower in the final hour of trading as investors sold some of the rally’s biggest winners amid concern a spending package from Washington is not imminent.
The S&P 500 fell for the first time in eight trading sessions, with some traders citing comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying stimulus talks are at a stalemate as a catalyst. The Nasdaq 100 fell for a third day. Treasury yields jumped before this week’s debt auctions and gold tumbled the most in seven years.
“There’s some profit taking going on, they’re looking to rotate into some of the stuff that hasn’t performed as well,” said Keith Gangl, portfolio manager for Gradient Investments.
A broad rally from industrial goods to health-care shares sent the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to its best increase in a week.
Adding to the earlier optimism was President Donald Trump announcement Monday that he’s considering a tax cut on capital gains, as well as rising hopes for an effective Covid-19 vaccine.
“It seems like a market in the final stages of a rally where investors try and play catch up in the highest beta/most cyclical areas, such as small caps, energy, financials,
industrials,” said Sameer Samana, Wells Fargo Investment’s senior global market strategist. “It is a risk-on market, but with a slightly different flavor than the one we saw while real rates and the dollar were declining.”
Elsewhere, the resignation of Lebanon’s government after the devastating explosion in Beirut threatened to upend prospects of a debt restructuring deal in the next few months.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings include E.ON, Deutsche Telekom, Carlsberg, Tencent and JD.com.
* New Zealand’s central-bank policy decision is due on Wednesday.
* U.S. CPI for July is scheduled for Wednesday.
* China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
*The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.8% to 3,333.76 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the first retreat in more than a week and the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
*The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.4% to 27,688.29, the first retreat in more than a week.
*The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 1.7% to 10,782.82, the lowest in more than a week on the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
*The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.1% to 563.77.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,181.46, the highest in a week.
*The euro was little changed at $1.1733, the weakest in almost two weeks.
*The Japanese yen depreciated 0.5% to 106.54 per dollar, the weakest in more than two weeks on the largest fall in more than a week.
Bonds
*The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 0.63%, the highest in more than three weeks on the biggest surge in more than two months.
*Germany’s 10-year yield jumped five basis points to -0.48%, the highest in more than two weeks on the largest surge in almost six weeks.
*Britain’s 10-year yield jumped seven basis points to 0.2%, the highest in five weeks on the biggest surge in more than four months.
Commodities
*West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1% to $41.49 a barrel.
*Gold depreciated 5.4% to $1,916.58 an ounce, the weakest in more than two weeks on the biggest tumble in more than seven years.
*Copper decreased 0.6% to $2.84 a pound.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Don’t be afraid of hard work.  Nothing worthwhile comes easily.
                                         -Gertrude Belle Elion, 1918-1999

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:
1675~ King Charles II and John Flamsteed lay the foundation stone of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.
1846~Smithsonian Institution established.
1945~Japan surrenders.
1962 – Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of “Amazing Fantasy.”  Go to article »

If the universe is a simulation, can we crash it? -Bloomberg.

“Real Genius” turns 35. (h/t Scott Kominers) –Bloomberg.

Do You Know the Difference Between Being Rich and Being Wealthy?:  To one man, money was a plaything. To another, it was a possibility. Guess which one came out ahead in the end? -WSJ.

And finally, if you drink Fresca or Squirt, you’re now also swallowing the latest mosquito repellent.  Nootkatone, an oil found in cedar trees and grapefruits, won approval today from the Environmental Protection Agency as an insect repellent. It is so safe that it is used as a flavor and fragrance by the food and perfume industries.
The chemical is not oily, lasts for hours and has a grapefruit-like scent. And it repels mosquitoes, ticks, bedbugs and fleas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bonus: It may also be effective against lice, sandflies, midges and other pests. –The New York Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Aeronaut teams take part in a hot air balloon competition near the White Rock, also known as AqQaya, in Crimea.
CREDIT:ALEXEY PAVLISHAK/REUTERS

The scene is Keswick where the mountain recovery team carried out a dramatic rescue after a 60yo climber plunged 40ft down a crag and miraculously survived.
CREDIT: KESWICK MOUNTAIN RESCUE/SWNS

Meet the amateur gardener who fills more than 100 hanging baskets and pots in his small suburban garden with nearly 1,000 stunning plants every year. Shaun Schroeder, 57, spends up to three hours a day planting, tending, dead-heading and watering his stunning collection of petunias and other assorted flowers. He spends four months growing them out in May, during a mammoth week-long planting session. The sprawl across 120 hanging baskets and tubs that cover every inch of his modest 4m wide garden at the back of his semi detached home in Whitchurch, on the outskirts of Bristol
CREDIT: TOM WREN/SWNS

Jimmy Shuttlewood up on the Moors in North Yorkshire.
CREDIT: CHARLOTTE GRAHAM FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Market Closes for August 10^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27791.44	+357.96
		+1.30%
S&P 500	3360.47	+9.19
		+0.27%
NASDAQ	10968.355	-42.627 -0.39%
TSX	16605.50	+61.03
		+0.37%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22329.94	-88.21
		-0.39%
HANG SENG	24377.43	-154.19
		-0.63%
SENSEX	38182.08	+141.51
		+0.37%
FTSE 100*	6050.59	+18.41 +0.31%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.494	0.479
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.978	0.947
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5788	0.5640
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2544	1.2336

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74886	0.74706
US $	1.33537	1.33858
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56773	0.63787
US $	1.17401	0.85178

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2031.15	2067.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.94	41.22

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1897, looking for a remedy for his father’s rheumatism, a young German chemist named Felix Hoffman synthesized a stable form of acetylsalicylic acid in a laboratory in Berlin. The head of Bayer’s pharmacological institute, Heinrich Dreser, lambasted Hoffmann’s discovery as “typical Berlin hot air; the product is worthless.” Bayer soon named the product “aspirin,” and it became the best-selling drug of all time.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose to the highest level since March 4 on Monday, led by advancing energy and healthcare stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 0.4% in Toronto. Energy stocks gained after oil posted the biggest gain in a week in New York amid signs that the U.S. may move forward with another economic stimulus deal that could bolster consumption.
On the deals front, the board of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. may prefer a deal involving its U.K. wealth management unit to a sale of the entire company, analysts say. Canaccord, Canada’s largest non-bank brokerage, is exploring strategic options including a sale of all or part of its business, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Mark Carney, the only person to run two major central banks, is helping Justin Trudeau the craft next steps in a plan to pull Canada out of a deep recession sparked by the coronavirus. Five months after stepping down as the Bank of England governor, Carney has become an informal adviser on policy matters to the Canadian prime minister.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to ~$2,025.70 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.2% to C$1.3354 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.495%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.4 percent at 16,605.50 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 4 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent.
Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.5 percent. Brookfield Business Partners LP had the largest increase, rising 11.0 percent.
Today, 129 of 221 shares rose, while 90 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 14 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24 on a trailing basis and 24.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 10.85 percent compared with 12.37 percent in the previous session and the average of 15.74 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 58.1996| 1.3| 20/4
Energy | 43.7136| 2.1| 22/2
Industrials | 15.3572| 0.8| 17/11
Consumer Discretionary | 7.1601| 1.3| 7/5
Utilities | 6.7565| 0.8| 14/2
Real Estate | 4.7570| 0.9| 17/10
Health Care | 2.4756| 1.5| 5/4
Communication Services | 2.2673| 0.3| 7/1
Consumer Staples | -3.8394| -0.5| 3/8
Materials | -10.4705| -0.4| 16/34
Information Technology | -65.3554| -3.8| 1/9
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks were mostly mixed as investors sold some of the high-flyers that drove the latest rally that almost pushed U.S. equities back to record highs. Crude oil rallied and the dollar touched a one-week high.
The S&P 500 approached its all-time high reached prior to the coronavirus pandemic, while the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 0.5%. The energy and industrial sectors led gains. Chipmakers led declines amid renewed tensions with China. Media shares dropped on speculation over the cancellation of college football.
“Tech has been one of the few resilient sectors within this whole year, I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw a little bit of pullback in that areas just because it’s been one of the more resilient,” said Katy Kaminski, chief research strategist and a portfolio manager for AlphaSimplex Group’s managed futures strategy.
The S&P 500 Total Return Index, which includes reinvested dividends, rose to an all-time high, exceeding its February peak. The price-only version rose to less than 1% away from breaking out.
Oil gained the most in almost three weeks after Saudi Aramco said demand will continue to improve and traders bet on more U.S. stimulus. Turkey’s lira was weaker even as the banking regulator moved to slow lending in an attempt to stabilize the currency.
In Europe, stocks advanced led by financial companies.
Chinese equities climbed on the back of data showing the economy continuing to recover from the pandemic, with consumer inflation accelerating.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed four executive orders to maintain some assistance, including for unemployment benefits, a temporary payroll tax deferral, eviction protection and student-loan relief. Trump’s policy announcements come as Democrats and Republicans are still negotiating a broader additional virus relief package. The two sides are still trillions of dollars apart on overall spending and on key issues, including aid to state and local governments and the amount of supplementary unemployment benefits.
“We’re entering the week in a precarious position with the S&P 500 within earshot of an all-time high,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial. “Whether it breaks through that psychologically important barrier depends on how the market is able to take looming trade tensions and Washington machinations in stride.”
Elsewhere, shares in Lebanese real-estate company Solidere closed slightly higher as they traded for the first time since the deadly blast in Beirut’s port that killed more than 150 people.

Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings include SoftBank, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Carlsberg, Tencent and JD.com.
* New Zealand’s policy decision is due on Wednesday.
* China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.
* U.S. retail sales are expected Friday, with a smaller increase forecast for July than in the prior two months.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index increased 0.3% to 3,360.59 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, hitting the highest in almost six months with its seventh consecutive advance.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% to 27,792.88, reaching the highest in more than five months on its seventh consecutive advance.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4% to 10,968.36.
* The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.1% to 563.83.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,180.45, the highest in a week.
* The euro declined 0.4% to $1.1745, the weakest in almost two weeks.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.95 per dollar, the weakest in more than two weeks.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.58%, the highest in almost two weeks.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.53%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.131%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $42.05 a barrel, the largest advance in almost three weeks.
* Gold weakened 0.5% to $2,025.19 an ounce.
* Copper rose 2.7% to $2.87 a pound, the largest rise in more than two months.

–With assistance from Lu Wang and Kamaron Leach.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

By words the mind is winged.
      -Aristophanes, c.450 BCE-c.388 BCE

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.

August 7, 1959: First photo of Earth from space taken by US satellite Explorer VI.
1882~Hatfield-McCoy feud erupts.
Mata Hari, Dutch spy, b.1876.
On Aug. 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on United States forces. Go to article »
August 7, 1991~Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web.  WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.

Airports may do away with check-in and security lines. -Bloomberg.

Black hole planets may exist. -Bloomberg.

Looking at deep red light may help eyesight. –Bloomberg.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A view of a room transformed by the artist Tuomas Kiuru inside a former residential building in Kerava, about 40 kilometers north of Helsinki, Finland
CREDIT: MAURI RATILANINEN/EPA -EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A bear cub cling to his mother’s back as they hitch a ride across a wide river in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska
CREDIT: PATTIE WALSH/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

SpaceX’s Starship SN5 full-size prototype completed its first successful test flight, soaring to 490 ft(150 metres) over Boca Chica Texas
CREDIT: UP/ALAMY LIVE NEWS

People enjoy a warm day at La Concha beach in San Sebastian, Basque Country, northern Spain
CREDIT: JAVIER ETXEZARR
Market Closes for August 7^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27433.48	+46.50
		+0.17%
S&P 500	3351.28	+2.12
		+0.06%
NASDAQ	11010.984	-97.086 -0.87%
TSX	16544.48	-34.62
		-0.21%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22329.94	-88.21
		-0.39%
HANG SENG	24531.62	-398.96
		-1.60%
SENSEX	38040.57	+15.12
		+0.04%
FTSE 100*	6032.18	+5.24 +0.09%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.479	0.464
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.947	0.925
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5640	0.5346
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2336	1.1974

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74706	0.75136
US $	1.33858	1.33092
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57764	0.63386
US $	1.17859	0.84847

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2067.15	2048.15
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.22	41.95

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1990, The Wall Street Journal published market guru Joe Granville’s forecast that the stock market would “crash within a few days.” Mr. Granville called for the Dow to fall below 2,200 by the end of August and to drop below 1,750 by the spring of 1992. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for everyone who ignored him, the Dow barely budged, finishing the month at 2,614 and soaring past 3,200 by the spring of 1992.
Canada
By Divya Balji
(Bloomberg) — After an epic rally from its pandemic low, Canada’s equity market may be losing some steam.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index has made a remarkable comeback since March. It still needs to rise another 519 points, or 3.1%, to break even for the year. The index has been carried by big gains in gold and technology: Only 41% of its members (91 of 221) are in the green for 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
As the coronavirus outbreak ravages economies and businesses around the globe, Canadian companies have shown some resilience — with a majority of firms beating analyst estimates in the second quarter. A jump in commodity prices and Shopify Inc.’s big leap have pushed the nation’s equity benchmark to its longest monthly rally since September.
In the 96 trading days since the March low, the TSX has closed in the green on 61 days, or 64% of the time. That’s higher than the 54% seen annually going back two decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But a resurgence in virus cases, stalled U.S. fiscal stimulus talks ahead and geopolitical tensions — all in the midst of America’s tumultuous presidential election campaign –have renewed volatility.
The abrupt plunge in stocks earlier this year was met with an equally rapid bounce thanks to fiscal and monetary stimulus, “and now that shock effect seems to be wearing off and we’re dealing with the ‘what’s next?’,” said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments Inc. Equity markets are painting a more optimistic picture than bonds. Stocks bulls are focused on the economic recovery, while fixed-income markets suggest the growth profile will be a slow and long grind, according to Kevin McCreadie, chief executive officer of AGF Management Ltd.
“You have to barbell a little bit of both in your portfolio right now to position,” he said on BNN Bloomberg.
The tug-of-war for investor sentiment can be seen in Canada’s economic recovery. While the country has a handle on the virus outbreak and has seen a strong recovery in employment numbers, a larger part of the economy is still dependent on its major trading partners and many of them are still in crisis mode against Covid-19, said Ed Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
What could provide a solid boost to Canada’s market is bank earnings results due later this month. The nation’s Big Six banks — which make up almost a fifth of the S&P/TSX Composite — are slated to report in about two weeks. Strong profit growth or an improving outlook for loan losses, indicating projections
a solid economic recovery, could help with giving the equity market a lift.
Investment firms that have reported so far have seen strong growth in assets under management and trading activity, which could be also a positive indication for earnings at Canada’s biggest banks. “People are starting to realize that there’s potential the Canadian banks could have a positive surprise, and that’s really not priced in stocks at all given how much they’ve underperformed other sectors this year,” Purpose’s Taylor said.
Economy
*Canada’s economy recorded a third straight month of strong employment gains that have recouped more than half of losses from Covid-19. Employment rose by 418,500 in July, bringing to 1.7 million the number of jobs reclaimed over the past three months.
*Visible minorities were among those hardest hit by Canada’s recession, with some groups reporting jobless rate increases about double those of the least affected.

*Canadian households are showing a newfound economic optimism, a good sign for the nation’s nascent recovery. After stalling at the end of June, sentiment around personal finances, job security, economic growth and real estate are all beginning to march higher again, telephone polling shows.
*Home sale numbers in Toronto and Vancouver also picked up in July with a 29.5% gain year-over-year in Canada’s most- populous city and 22.3% in the latter.
Politics
*Canada will hit the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs after President Donald Trump announced plans to impose duties on Canadian aluminum. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland released a list of more than 60 U.S. aluminum-containing products that could face higher tariffs, but vowed not to escalate the situation beyond what she said was a dollar-for-dollar equivalent duties, totaling C$3.6 billion ($2.7 billion) in goods.
*Ontario Premier Doug Ford also joined the spat, urging consumers to shift purchases away from U.S. goods to fight against the tariffs.
–With assistance from Brandon Kochkodin and Shelly Hagan.

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 16,544.48 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.7 percent. Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust had the largest drop, falling 12.7 percent.
Today, 113 of 221 shares fell, while 105 rose; 5 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.3 percent
* The index advanced 1.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.1 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.5 on a trailing basis and 25.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.53t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.37 percent compared with 12.48 percent in the previous session and the average of 16.46 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -52.9709| -2.0| 11/39
Information Technology | -45.0039| -2.5| 3/7
Health Care | -7.7484| -4.6| 3/5
Consumer Staples | -3.6103| -0.5| 3/8
Communication Services | -1.5768| -0.2| 3/5
Consumer Discretionary | 0.4276| 0.1| 8/5
Real Estate | 0.7303| 0.1| 12/13
Energy | 5.6852| 0.3| 15/9
Utilities | 6.1748| 0.8| 12/4
Industrials | 20.7259| 1.1| 15/13
Financials | 42.5331| 0.9| 20/5
US
By Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — Tech shares fell as the White House ramped up its confrontation with China, while a better-than-forecast jobs report helped fuel advances for smaller U.S. companies.
The Nasdaq Composite Index pared a weekly increase as heavyweights including Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. fell. Gains for smaller banks, manufacturers and utilities helped lift the Russell 2000. Investors kept a close eye on efforts by the White House and lawmakers to reach a deal to extend a coronavirus relief package, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying he’ll recommend President Donald Trump move ahead with executive actions to halt evictions and possibly restore some unemployment aid after talks stalled.
Tech shares were also among the worst performers in Asia after the White House’s latest attack on Chinese tech companies and a plan to sanction Hong Kong’s chief executive. The dollar strengthened on haven demand, while gold retreated for the first time in six days. Europe’s benchmark stock gauge ended higher.
Trump Ban on Top Messaging App Risks Snarling Global Business Investors have bid up U.S. stocks back toward record-high levels and a global gauge of equities has almost wiped out losses for the year. But with elevated levels of unemployment, investors had been seeking a new U.S. relief package to cushion the blow for consumers.
“The risk is that a policy failure drains the tentative strength that had been creeping back into the economy in recent months,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. WeChat operator Tencent Holdings Ltd. slumped 5% in Hong Kong after Trump signed executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing any business with WeChat, TikTok or the apps’ Chinese owners.
Elsewhere, oil slumped along with copper.

     These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose less than 0.1% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 1.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 1.6%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.5%.
* The euro sank 0.8% to $1.1786.
* The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 105.96 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 0.56%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 0.14%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $41.52 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 1.6% to $2,030.99 an ounce.
* Copper fell 4% to $2.793 per pound.

–With assistance from Jeanny Yu, Adam Haigh, Robert Brand, Yakob Peterseil and Vildana Hajric.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going.
                                                                 –Epictetus, 50 AD-135 AD

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: Hiroshima Day.

On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare. Go to article »

If I had only known, I would have been a  locksmith. -Albert Einstein.

Setsuko Thurlow was 13 years old and in Hiroshima when the U.S. dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Japan. Ever since, she has been fighting for the abolition of nuclear weapons, sharing a Nobel Peace Prize for the work in 2017.  Our Tokyo bureau chief’s profile of Ms. Thurlow, now 88, comes on the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and serves as a reminder of the urgency of hearing the stories of a dwindling number of survivors.  A new book documents the human impact of the bombings, which ended World War II,
with photographs that the U.S. once banned both at home and in Japan. -The NY Times.

The front page of The Times from Aug. 7, 1945. –The NY Times.

Alfred Lord Tennyson, poet, b. 1809.
Lucille Ball, actress, b. 1911.
Andy Warhol, artist, b. 1928

Giuseppe Paternò graduated with honors last week from the University of Palermo, with a degree in history and philosophy. Mr. Paternò is 96.
That he reached his lifelong goal — despite an impoverished childhood, World War II and family demands — drew attention across Italy, resonating as millions of schoolchildren faced extraordinary uncertainty amid the pandemic.  “Don’t get lost because you find obstacles — because there will always be obstacles,” Mr. Paternò said after donning the traditional red-ribboned laurel wreath.
“You have to be strong.” –The NY Times.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
A full moon is seen just right behind the Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio de Janiero, Brazil
CREDIT: ANTONIO LACERDA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Family of marmots who live in the Austrian countryside
CREDIT: @MURMELTIERFOTOS.DE/CATERS NEWS

Locomotive SR 926 Repton travels through Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on route from Grosmont to Pickering in North Yorkshire this morning.
CREDIT: ANDREW MCCAREN/LNP

Iceland horse raise dust as they run in their paddock at a stud farm as the sun rises early Wednesday, Aug 5, 2020, in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany.
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL PROBST
Market Closes for August 6^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27386.98	+185.46
		+0.68%
S&P 500	3349.16	+21.39
		+0.64%
NASDAQ	11108.070	+109.673 +1.00%
TSX	16579.10	+77.49
		+0.47%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22418.15	-96.70
		-0.43%
HANG SENG	24930.58	-171.96
		-0.69%
SENSEX	38025.45	+362.12
		-0.96%
FTSE 100*	6026.94	-77.78 -1.27%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.464	0.502
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.925	0.946
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5346	0.5477
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.1974	1.2224

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75136	0.75387
US $	1.33092	1.32648
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.58054	0.63270
US $	1.18756	0.84207

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	2048.15	1977.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.95	42.19

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1957, with Japan’s postwar economic boom underway, the Nikkei 225 stock index surpassed the level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (which closed at 494.13) for the first time.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose Thursday after a slew of corporate earnings and U.S. equities climbed on optimism that officials will come to terms on fresh economic stimulus.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.5%, with seven of eleven sectors advancing. Industrials led the way, with energy also climbing.
The Trump Administration will reimpose tariffs on some Canadian aluminum imports, hitting a crucial trade partner just weeks after the president’s landmark North American trade agreement went into effect, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Canadian Natural Resources, the country’s largest oil and gas producer, is prioritizing maintaining a streak of 20 years of dividend increases but won’t rule out making acquisitions as low crude prices create motivated sellers.
Meanwhile, supply chain software provider Kinaxis is hiring proactively as its business booms amid the Covid-19 pandemic that has led to countries globally closing their borders.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.10 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.4% to ~$2,066 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.3% to C$1.3305 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3.9 basis points to 0.464%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.5 percent, or 77.49 to 16,579.10 in Toronto. The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 4.
Canadian National Railway Co. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. Pretium Resources Inc. had the largest increase, rising 25.7 percent.
Today, 125 of 221 shares rose, while 93 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by industrials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 2.5 percent
* The index advanced 2.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 7.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 48.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.1 on a trailing basis and 25.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.52t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.48 percent compared with 13.86 percent in the previous session and the average of 16.77 percent over the past month

================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Industrials | 34.8355| 1.9| 21/7
Financials | 30.6162| 0.7| 16/9
Energy | 25.2641| 1.2| 20/4
Communication Services | 7.9280| 0.9| 5/2
Consumer Staples | 5.6791| 0.8| 7/4
Information Technology | 5.6498| 0.3| 8/2
Real Estate | 2.1936| 0.4| 20/6
Utilities | -2.4491| -0.3| 5/11
Health Care | -4.3309| -2.5| 1/8
Consumer Discretionary | -6.6182| -1.2| 9/4
Materials | -21.2958| -0.8| 13/36
US
By Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed on optimism that officials will come to terms on fresh economic stimulus, putting a gauge of global stocks on the verge of erasing this year’s losses. Gold extended gains amid speculation interest rates will stay low for longer.
The S&P 500 rose for a fifth straight day, with Apple Inc. leading the charge as it reached a record and helping lift the MSCI All-Country World Index to little changed for the year. Stocks got a lift in the afternoon as lawmakers pledged to keep working toward a coronavirus relief package and President Donald Trump said he could act unilaterally on some measures. The dollar slipped.
Equity gains have mounted in the past week amid better-than-forecast earnings and optimism on a coronavirus vaccine, but any hint that negotiators won’t be able to resolve differences over a new U.S. relief package has sparked jitters. The White House and congressional Democrats are up against a self- imposed Friday deadline to strike a deal as data Thursday showed almost 1.2 million unemployment claims.
“Anything that we can do to continue to provide a bridge to people as we get through this crisis is going to be really important,” said Chuck Cumello, president and chief executive officer of Essex Financial Services. “The U.S. consumer is driving two-thirds of the economy.”
Elsewhere, mining and energy producers were among the laggards as European stocks slumped. Turkey’s lira touched a record low against the dollar as interventions by state banks failed to reassure markets. Gold climbed above $2,050 an ounce in a fifth straight day of gains.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Germany’s June industrial production figures are scheduled for Friday.
* July U.S. jobs reports expected Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.6% at 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.7%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1%.
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.56 per dollar.
* The Turkish lira weakened 2.5% to 7.2253 per dollar and fell as low as 7.31.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.54%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to 0.11%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.53%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $42.03 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.2% to $2,061.90 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.1% to $2.9135 per pound.
–With assistance from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Adam Haigh and Todd White

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

A doubtful friend is worse than a certain enemy.  Let a man be one thing or the other,
and we then know how to meet him.
                                                                              -Aesop, c. 620-564 BCE

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:
Picnic Day, Australia.
Jamaica Independence Day.

The Indy 500 will run without fans this year 
If a car zooms around a turn and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound? -CNN

Five minutes is all it will take to make you fall in love with these 21st-century composers. –The NY Times.

Take a virtual stroll through the Bronx with Michael Kimmelman, The Times’s architecture critic, and the conservation ecologist Eric Sanderson as they explore the borough’s geological past.-The NY Times.

It really worked. Three men stranded on a remote, uninhabited Pacific Ocean island were rescued after their message in the sand was seen from the air. Take a look. –The Seattle Times.
On August 5, 1963 the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. Go to article »

1583~Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland for the British crown – first English colony in North America and the beginning of the British Empire.

See the devastation of the massive Beirut blast from above. -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Hikers stop to admire the view of the full moon as it rises over Somerset.
CREDIT: MITCHELL GUNN/ESPA -IMAGES
​​​​​​​A boy runs past a WWII memorial sculpture entitled “The Tragedy of the people” by Zurab Tsereteli at Poklonnaya Hill in western Moscow
CREDIT: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP

The picture shows a rare weather pattern known as a blue sky halo – where a rainbow forms around the sun-in the sky above Coverack, Cornwall.
CREDIT: ZOE HOLMES/SWNS.CO.

The view over Gold Hill at Shaftesbury, Dorset.
CREDIT: RACHEL BAKER/BNPS
Market Closes for August 5^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	27201.52	+373.05
		+1.39%
S&P 500	3327.77	+21.26
		+0.64%
NASDAQ	10998.398	+57.232 +0.52%
TSX	16501.61	+133.58
		+0.82%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22514.85	-58.81
		-0.26%
HANG SENG	25102.54	+155.91
		+0.63%
SENSEX	37663.33	-24.58
		-0.07%
FTSE 100*	6104.72	+68.72 +1.14%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.502	0.431
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.946	0.887
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5477	0.5085
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2224	1.1869

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75387	0.75080
US $	1.32648	1.33191
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57361	0.63548
US $	1.18631	0.84295

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1977.90	1958.55
Oil
WTI Crude Future	42.19	41.70

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1861, federal income tax was imposed on the public for the first time, as the Revenue Act of 1861 became law, assessing a tax of 3% on all personal income in excess of $800 a year to help pay for the Civil War.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares advanced Wednesday amid a slew of corporate earnings while insurance stocks rallied.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.8%, with nine of 11 sectors rising. Great-West Lifeco Inc. jumped the most since June 8 after posting second-quarter financial results that crushed analysts’ estimates.
After months of lagging behind their equity counterparts, fixed-income ETFs attracted net capital of C$3.7 billion ($2.8 billion) in July, their highest month of inflows this year, according to data from National Bank of Canada.
Meanwhile, Husky Energy Inc. returned to the Canadian- dollar bond market for the first time in three years as investors sort out the lowest corporate bond yields on record.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $12.00 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.9% to $2,038.18 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.3% to C$1.3278 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 6.6 basis points to 0.494%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.8 percent, or 133.58 to 16,501.61 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since March 5.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.3 percent. Hudbay Minerals Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.0 percent.
Today, 149 of 221 shares rose, while 70 fell; 9 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 1.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.2 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 47.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.4 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.8 on a trailing basis and 25.2 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.5t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.86 percent compared with 13.74 percent in the previous session and the average of 16.97 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 71.1909| 1.6| 24/1
Materials | 16.9642| 0.6| 33/17
Industrials | 16.8361| 0.9| 24/4
Energy | 16.2087| 0.8| 16/8
Information Technology | 15.7898| 0.9| 9/1
Consumer Discretionary | 5.7588| 1.0| 9/4
Real Estate | 3.2029| 0.6| 20/6
Consumer Staples | 1.5226| 0.2| 6/5
Health Care | 0.6212| 0.4| 4/4
Communication Services | -7.1064| -0.8| 0/8
Utilities | -7.3967| -0.9| 4/12
US
By Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — The S&P 500 Index posted a fourth straight advance amid encouraging news on the vaccine front and speculation U.S. lawmakers are making progress on an economic aid package.
The benchmark stock gauge rose to within 2% of its record closing high of 3,386, and a measure of global equities was near wiping out its losses for the year. Payment processor Square Inc. and media titan Walt Disney Co. rose after better-than-forecast earnings. Novavax Inc. jumped on positive early data from its experimental vaccine for Covid-19.
Gold continued its ascent above a record $2,000 an ounce as investors sought an alternative to low bond yields. The dollar fell. Ten-year Treasury yields edged up. Oil rose after a decline in U.S. stockpiles.
Investors have been pushing stocks higher in recent days as pressure grows on Republicans and Democrats to resolve differences over a new U.S. virus relief package, especially with jobs data Wednesday painting a grim picture. Gains in precious metals suggest traders are nervous about the outlook for the global economy and seeking a hedge.
“Stock markets in general have been underpinned by expectations for further stimulus out of the U.S.,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager of global asset allocation at Fiera Capital Corp. “The second-quarter earnings season has also lent some notable support and helped to counteract some of the fears about the latest resurgence in Covid cases.” U.S. economic data was mixed, with payroll gains slowing sharply in July, suggesting the pickup in coronavirus cases is putting the brakes on the job market. Meanwhile, service industries expanded in July at the fastest pace since February 2019.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced while Asian shares were mixed.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Reserve Bank of India and Bank of England rate decisions due Thursday.
* Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan discusses the U.S. economy at Thursday event.
* July U.S. employment and jobs reports expected Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.5%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.5%.
* The euro increased 0.5% to $1.1864.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 105.59 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries added four basis points to 0.54%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield increased five basis points to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield climbed five basis points to 0.13%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude added 1.1% to $42.16 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.1% to $2,040.59 an ounce.
–With assistance from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Joanna Ossinger, Marton Eder, Farah Elbahrawy, Andreea Papuc and Anchalee Worrachate.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts.
                                    -William Hazlitt, 1778-1830

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:
August 4, 1944: Anne Frank arrested in Amsterdam by German Security Police (Grüne Polizei) following a tip-off from an informer who was never identified.

1962-Nelson Mandela arrested.
Louis Armstrong, musician, b. 1900.

Get a glimpse of life within the remote villages of Patagonia. -The New York Times.

Inside undersea rocks, life thrives without sunshine. (h/t Scott Kominers) –Bloomberg.

On Aug. 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany while the United States proclaimed its neutrality. Go to article »

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The moon rises behind the columns if the ancients marble Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, about 70km (45 miles) south of Athens
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/PETROS GIANNAKOURIS

A stunning photo of a bubble of gas that resembles a butterfly has been taken by the European Southern Obsercatory
CREDIT: ESO/COVER IMAGES

The comet, which has been in the solar system for a month or so, is already near the horizon, in sharp contrast to the faint airglow and extreme brightness of the Big Dipper in the sky. Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, China
CREDIT: COSTFOTO/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for August 4^th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26828.47	+164.07
		+0.62%
S&P 500	3306.51	+11.90
		+0.36%
NASDAQ	10941.168	+38.371 +0.35%
TSX	16368.03	+198.82
		+1.23%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22573.66	+378.28
		+1.70%
HANG SENG	24946.63	+488.50
		+2.00%
SENSEX	37687.91	+748.31
		+2.03%
FTSE 100*	6036.00	+3.15 +0.05%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.431	0.467
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.887	0.927
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5085	0.5282
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.1869	1.1925

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.75080	0.74551
US $	1.33191	1.34136
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57183	0.63620
US $	1.18013	0.84736

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1958.55	1957.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.70	40.27

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1790, Congress enacted Alexander Hamilton’s plan to fund the public debt, ending years of turmoil and haggling over the junk bonds issued by the federal and state governments during the Revolution, making government spending possible, and giving birth to the American securities markets.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks rose Tuesday after trading was closed for Monday’s Civic Holiday.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 1.2% to the highest since March 5. Energy shares led the way after oil climbed to the highest level in nearly two weeks after an explosion at Lebanon’s main port rocked the capital of Beirut.
Information technology stocks also rallied, with Lighspeed POS up 9.8%, and Kinaxis Inc. advancing 5.8%. Spot gold soared to a record above $2,000 an ounce as investors continue to seek a haven for their assets amid daunting economic and geopolitical risks.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $11.15 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold was flat at ~$2,019.23 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar weakened 0.1% to C$1.3325 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3.5 basis points to 0.432%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.2 percent at 16,368.03 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.7 percent on July 14 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.8 percent.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.8 percent. Lightspeed POS Inc. had the largest increase, rising 9.8 percent.
Today, 146 of 221 shares rose, while 72 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 0.6 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 12 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 8.9 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 46.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.6 on a trailing basis and 24.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.74 percent compared with 13.36 percent in the previous session and the average of 17.11 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 67.9995| 2.6| 41/8
Energy | 63.4970| 3.3| 24/0
Information Technology | 54.3912| 3.2| 7/3
Communication Services | 17.2336| 2.0| 8/0
Consumer Discretionary | 6.6733| 1.2| 10/3
Health Care | 5.0674| 3.0| 6/3
Utilities | 2.3363| 0.3| 8/8
Real Estate | 0.1036| 0.0| 11/15
Consumer Staples | -0.5796| -0.1| 8/3
Financials | -4.0159| -0.1| 11/13
Industrials | -13.8824| -0.7| 12/16
US
By Brendan Walsh
(Bloomberg) — U.S. equities eked out a gain as investors tried to gauge the outlook for a stimulus bill to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The S&P 500 Index ended 0.4% higher after wavering between small losses and gains throughout the day. Energy companies led the advance as crude climbed.
Financial shares suffered as American International Group Inc. fell after posting a $7.9 billion loss. Treasuries rose. Argentina’s overseas notes rallied after the government reached a $65 billion restructuring deal with creditors.
With the S&P 500 less than 3% off its pre-pandemic high, U.S. equity investors are closely monitoring efforts in Washington to negotiate a new virus relief package that many see as key to keeping the economy afloat. The pressure is building as negotiators seek to shrink the wide gap that remains between Republicans and Democrats.
“We see U.S. stocks at risk of fading fiscal stimulus,” BlackRock Investment Institute strategists led by Mike Pyle wrote in a note. “U.S. employment figures are in focus this week as this fiscal cliff nears and the pandemic’s spread in Sunbelt states is starting to affect economic activity.”
Elsewhere, shares dipped in Europe, with Diageo Plc tumbling after bar closures sapped sales. Major indexes rose more than 1% in Japan and Hong Kong.
West Texas-grade crude oil rose past $41 a barrel after the biggest gain in almost two weeks Monday. Spot gold reached an intraday record.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Euro-zone PMI reports are scheduled for Wednesday.
* Reserve Bank of India and Bank of England rate decisions due Thursday.
* Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan discusses the U.S. economy at Thursday event.
* July U.S. employment and jobs reports expected Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2%.
* The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1801.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 105.67 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased five basis points to 0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.074%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped three basis points to -0.55%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.5% to $41.61 a barrel.
* Gold rose 1.8% to $2,012.38 an ounce.
* Copper fell 0.5% to $2.8965 per pound.
–With assistance from Nancy Moran, Andreea Papuc, Todd White and Cecile Gutscher.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.
        –Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790

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.
St. Ignatius Loyola Day; he died on this day in 1556 in Rome, Italy.

July 31^st, 1961~ Israel welcomes its one millionth immigrant.
1790~US Patent Office opens

Garth Brooks explains why he removed himself from the CMA Entertainer of the Year category
In short, let someone else have a chance! -CNN.

Here are 13 new books to check out in August.-The NY Times.

On July 31, 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon’s surface. Go to article »

Microsoft may buy TikTok, and Trump will order China’s ByteDance to sell the social network’s U.S. operations. -Bloomberg.

Forgiving someone else is really about you. -Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Heather Phillipson’s ‘THE END’ is unveiled as the latest artwork to take residency on The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, England, UK.
CREDIT: JUSTIN NG/UPPA/AVALON

Magical images captured the six-foot-tall Kermode bear -of which experts predict there might only be one hundred left -as it walked through a rainforest and scoured a river for salmon. Other shots showed the mesmerising bear of unique pigmentation capture and devour a 30-pound fish in Canada.
CREDIT: MEDIADRUMWORLD.COM/SCOTTDERE/@TH

Bulging eyes, plant feasts and spiders ready to attach -These are incredible finalist entries from the ViewBug Macro Monsters competition capturing creepie -crawlies around the world.
CREDIT: LPEPZ/VIEWBUG/JAM PRESS
Market Closes for July 31st , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26428.32	+114.67
		+0.44%
S&P 500	3271.12	+24.90
		+0.77%
NASDAQ	10745.273	+157.460 +1.49%
TSX	16169.20	-130.09
		-0.80%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	21710.00	-629.23
		-2.82%
HANG SENG	24595.35	-115.24
		-0.47%
SENSEX	37606.89	-129.18
		-0.34%
FTSE 100*	5897.76	-92.23 -1.54%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.467	0.447
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.927	0.920
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5282	0.5462
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.1925	1.2080

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74551	0.74524
US $	1.34136	1.34185
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57955	0.63309
US $	1.17757	0.84921

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1957.65	1950.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	40.27	39.92

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1944, Robert C. Merton was born in New York City, son of Columbia sociology professor Robert K. Merton. With Fischer Black and Myron Scholes, he went on to develop the mathematics of options pricing. The mathematical model helped millions of Americans grow wealthy with stock options. But Merton and Scholes, as partners in the giant hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, nearly capsized the global financial system with their leveraged trading in late 1998
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares fell Friday though ended the week higher with information technology index gaining 5%.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell about 0.8% Friday, with tech and health care among laggards. Materials advanced.
Air Canada escalated a fight with the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the country’s stringent travel rules, threatening to suspend more routes and cancel orders of locally made planes. Shares fell 6.1% Friday.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s new Toronto headquarters will play a role when the company returns employees to the office, but a majority will keep working from home into 2021.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.15 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.8% to ~$1,972 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.1% to C$1.3406 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 2 basis points to 0.468%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.8 percent at 16,169.20 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 0.9 percent on July 23 and follows the previous session’s little change.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.1 percent. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. had the largest drop, falling 9.0 percent.
Today, 151 of 221 shares fell, while 67 rose; 9 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.1 percent
* This month, the index rose 4.2 percent
* The index declined 1.4 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 9.2 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.7 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.5 on a trailing basis and 24.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.48t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.36 percent compared with 13.05 percent in the previous session and the average of 17.61 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -77.5087| -1.7| 0/25
Information Technology | -34.0771| -2.0| 3/7
Energy | -28.0912| -1.4| 3/20
Industrials | -13.4014| -0.7| 5/23
Consumer Discretionary | -9.1860| -1.6| 1/12
Consumer Staples | -6.7853| -1.0| 3/7
Real Estate | -5.6199| -1.1| 6/21
Communication Services | -5.1423| -0.6| 3/5
Health Care | -3.3353| -2.0| 1/8
Utilities | 1.9859| 0.2| 8/8
Materials | 51.0760| 2.0| 34/15
US
By Rita Nazareth and Amena Saad
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks extended their July rally amid a surge in technology shares and on news the White House and Democrats are planning to meet Saturday to discuss the next virus-relief package.
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said the administration is willing to compromise while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted Republicans didn’t have the votes to extend the $600 per week unemployment benefit that’s propped up incomes and spending. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed on solid earnings from giants such as Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Microsoft Corp. erased declines on a news report it’s exploring an acquisition of TikTok’s operations in the U.S. Earlier Friday, equities slumped after Florida posted a fourth straight record in deaths by Covid-19, Arizona’s cases accelerated and New Jersey’s virus transmission rate jumped.

In a very volatile session, the S&P 500 notched its fourth consecutive monthly advance. However, signs the economic rebound is stalling might make it tougher for stocks to gain further momentum. U.S. consumer sentiment extended its slide in late July as the resurgent coronavirus led to renewed business closings andlayoffs. The extra federal unemployment benefits of $600 a week run dry as of Friday — leaving millions of out-of- work Americans without an additional safety net at a time when the jobs market is still depressed.
“With the impact of past stimulus measures fading and given some evidence that the global recovery has already stalled, it remains to be seen what will help keep global stock markets elevated in the coming months, especially U.S. stocks,” said Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at ThinkMarkets. “There is a risk we may see a correction in August, although it doesn’t have to be as severe as the one we saw in March, for things have since improved and monetary conditions are even more accommodative.”
Tech companies continued to lead the advance in 2020, and their solid results are a validation for bulls who have bet the industry would emerge from the pandemic stronger than the rest of the market.
Since the bottom in March, the Nasdaq 100 has added about $4 trillion in market value. It beat the benchmark gauge for a 10th straight month — the longest winning streak in 20 years. Despite the tech resilience, Michael Sheldon, chief investment officer at RDM Financial Group, said it’s very possible the market could enter a trading range over the next month or two because there’s still a lot of uncertainty.
“If you look ahead 12 to 18 months, the economy is likely to continue to recover from the deep  downturn caused by Covid-19,” he said. “However, it’s important for investors to know that the recovery in the economy is not likely to be in a straight line. There will likely be bumps around the way.”
Some other corporate highlights:
* Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. posted the worst losses in a generation after the pandemic and a global crude glut combined to batter almost every part of their businesses.
* Caterpillar Inc.’s cost cuts helped it make up for slowing sales, but concern of second waves of the coronavirus weighed on the prospects for the rest of the year.
* Gilead Sciences Inc.’s “remdesivir guidance is hard to believe,” a Raymond James analyst said after the biotech company raised its forecast.
* Pinterest Inc. said revenue in July jumped as advertisers and users returned to the social-sharing service.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.9%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 1.5%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.4%.
* The euro sank 0.6% to $1.1778.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 1.1% to 105.86 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.54%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.52%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.104%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.6%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.3% to $40.42 abarrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.9% to $1,973.78 an ounce.

–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Cormac Mullen, Yakob Peterseil, Robert Brand, Lynn Thomasson, Sophie Caronello,
Nancy Moran, Claire Ballentine and Lu Wang.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The most difficult yet important question about the world into which we are headed is this: What will become of human consciousness if its own explanatory power is surpassed by AI, and societies are no longer able to  interpret the world they inhabit in terms that are meaningful to them?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            –        Henry A. Kissinger, b. 1923
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   How the Enlightenment Ends
 
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:

When Gary & I were travelling in Morocco a few years ago, we went to a village outside Marrakesh and went for  lunch at the home of a village family.  The tagine was dug out of the dirt floor in the kitchen and we and the extended family all sat around on intricate rugs placed on the floor and enjoyed the most wonderful tagine of lamb covered with a sauce of honey and raisins and served with couscous.  I didn’t think the dish had a name, simply lamb & couscous cooked in a tagine to me but when I read this in the NY Times  this morning, I was delighted to learn that it is called mrouzia and reading about it inspired me to drift back to that special moment in time – food  once again being the source of another indelible memory:

The Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid el-Kabir, begins tonight in the United States.
To celebrate — or just to enjoy a great meal — try Nargisse Benkabbou’s recipe for mrouzia, a Moroccan tagine of lamb shanks in a rich sauce infused with honey and raisins. The centuries-old dish, often served to commemorate special occasions, is delicious with couscous or bread.  Find more recipes for the holiday here. -The NY Times, July 30, 2020.

The author Helen Macdonald wrote a beautiful essay about swifts, graceful birds that may be “the closest things to aliens on Earth.” –The NY Times.

No More Shuffleboard. New VC Firm Targets Aging Boomers:  Alan Patricof, the 85-year old chairman emeritus of Greycroft, has co-founded Primetime Partners, a fund aimed at products and services for older people, and sees himself as a “poster boy” for September entrepreneurs. –WSJ.

These birds never touch the ground.

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Only 316 out of 1,196 men survived the sinking and shark-infested waters. Go to article »

1935- Paperback books introduced.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A sea of sunflowers in the village of Bloxworth, Dorset. The UK is expecting some of the hottest days of the year in the next couple of days.
CCREDIT: BNPS

The Mayflower II sails through the waters of Fishers Island Sound off Groton, Connecticut on the seventh day of two weeks of sea trials. The vessel, a replica of the original Mayflower that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620.
CREDIT: SEAN D. ELLIOT/THE DAY/AP

A woman refreshes herself in the outdoor pool in summer temperatures in Ehingen, Germany
CREDIT: THOMAS WARNACK/DPA
Market Closes for July 30th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26313.65	-225.92
		-0.85%
S&P 500	3246.22	-12.22
		-0.38%
NASDAQ	10587.813	+44.870 +0.43%
TSX	16299.29	+4.63
		+0.03%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22339.23	-57.88
		-0.26%
HANG SENG	24710.59	-172.55
		-0.69%
SENSEX	37736.07	-335.06
		-0.88%
FTSE 100*	5989.99	-141.47 -2.31%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.447	0.479
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.920	0.957
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5462	0.5708
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2080	1.2324

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74524	0.74980
US $	1.34185	1.33369
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.58979	0.62901
US $	1.18478	0.84404

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1950.90	1940.90
Oil
WTI Crude Future	39.92	41.27

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1914, just weeks after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, stock exchanges in Berlin, Rome and Vienna shut down as Austria declared war on Serbia. Investors panicked in New York: General Motors plunged 34% and Bethlehem Steel dropped 14% (even though it made the metal that would go into munitions if world war broke out). The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 6.9% on immense volume.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets pared earlier losses, led by outperformance in tech stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite index ended Thursday’s session flat, after falling as much as 1.7% earlier, in Toronto.
On the M&A front, George Weston, the Canadian grocery and baking giant, is exploring an acquisition of ailing Swiss baking company Aryzta, people familiar with the matter said.
Royal Bank of Canada is telling its office workers in and around Toronto to keep working from home into next year as part of the company’s efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19, following similar instructions from Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Meanwhile, Cineplex shares rose after it said it will open 25 theaters across Ontario on Friday, with the majority of its locations expected to reopen over the next several weeks.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.8% to ~$1,954.74 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.8% to C$1.3450 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 3 basis points to 0.449%

By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite advanced slightly to 16,298.98 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 0.8 percent. Brookfield Renewable Partners LP had the largest increase, rising 17.6 percent.
Today, 114 of 222 shares rose, while 105 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by information technology stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 1.9 percent
* This month, the index rose 5.1 percent
* The index declined 1 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 7.4 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.9 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.6 on a trailing basis and 24.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.48t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 13.05 percent compared with 13.05 percent in the previous session and the average of 17.81 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 22.7486| 1.3| 9/1
Financials | 12.3287| 0.3| 15/10
Communication Services | 8.0087| 0.9| 7/0
Consumer Staples | 7.4952| 1.1| 9/2
Consumer Discretionary | 3.8470| 0.7| 7/6
Real Estate | 3.4697| 0.7| 24/3
Utilities | 2.9256| 0.4| 15/2
Health Care | 0.7197| 0.4| 6/3
Industrials | -1.3384| -0.1| 13/15
Energy | -20.4877| -1.0| 2/22
Materials | -35.0835| -1.4| 7/41
US
By Rita Nazareth, Katherine Greifeld and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — A rally in big technology companies lifted stocks from Thursday’s lows, tempering concern over a slow economic rebound. After the close of regular trading, Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. jumped as results crushed Wall Street estimates.
The S&P 500 pared losses and the Nasdaq 100 climbed as Qualcomm Inc. soared on a strong sales forecast. A third day of falling bond yields sent financial shares slumping. Earlier Thursday, equities sank as data showed the U.S. economy had its sharpest contraction on record, while the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose. President Donald Trump raised the notion of delaying the Nov. 3 election until after the coronavirus pandemic eases.
Some corporate highlights:
* United Parcel Service Inc. jumped to a record on results that blew past estimates.
* Procter & Gamble Co. had a surge in sales amid high demand for detergent and continued stockpiling.
* Mastercard Inc. reported a rebound in consumer purchases on its cards in July.
* PayPal Holdings Inc. saw spending on its platform surge as more merchants switched to online sales.
* Johnson & Johnson’s experimental coronavirus vaccine protected a group of monkeys with a single shot, prompting it to start trials in humans this month.

Thanks to solid balance sheets and a suite of products that benefit from social distancing, giant tech companies have fared better during the pandemic-induced recession.   The Nasdaq 100 is still poised to beat the S&P 500 for a 10th consecutive month — the longest winning stretch in 20 years. But with much of the good news already priced into markets, traders are looking for catalysts that could sustain further momentum in equities.
“We’re in that uncertain time between the hopeful third quarter rebound and some concern about the reopening process and what the recovery looks like,” said Tom Garretson, senior portfolio strategist for RBC Wealth Management. “We’re kind of in that void right now, waiting for things to play out.”
In a very busy day for earnings, investors also digested economic figures that highlighted the massive devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While some numbers have improved after the reopenings, the recent spike in infections shows that the recovery will most likely take time. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that there are signs the increase in cases is starting to weigh on activity, while noting that the path forward for the economy is “extraordinarily uncertain.”
“It’s shocking no matter how you look at it,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Schwab Center for Financial Research. “Are things going to get better from here? I don’t think we know just yet. The virus is getting worse in a lot of areas, and some places have started to shut back down again. If you look at earnings in terms of beat rates, the results have actually been pretty good, granted the expectations bar has been set very low.”
There’s a distinction to be made between the S&P 500’s five biggest companies and all the rest, according to BCA Research.
The firm compared the total market value of the five — Amazon.com, Apple, Facebook, Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft Corp. — with the value of the other 495 companies in a chart last week. The top five’s value increased 266% from the start of 2015 through Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In the same period, the value of the rest rose just 25% — and the entire gain occurred after the S&P 500 set this year’s low in March.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Results from Chevron Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. are due Friday.
* China PMI data comes Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 decreased 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 2.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2%.
* The euro increased 0.4% to $1.1841.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.1% to 104.80 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 0.54%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield sank four basis points to -0.54%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.088%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 1.1%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude declined 2.8% to $40.13 a barrel.
* Gold weakened 0.8% to $1,954.24 an ounce.

–With assistance from Adam Haigh, Jan-Patrick Barnert, Constantine Courcoulas, Cecile Gutscher, Lynn Thomasson, David
Wilson and Lu Wang.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Loneliness is the way by which destiny endeavors to lead man to himself.
                                                            -Hermann Hesse, 1877-1962     

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:
Olsok~ it is St. Olaf’s Day today, which is a national day of celebration in Norway and the Faroe Islands.  It commemorates the death of King Olaf in the Battle of Stiklestad, in  Norway on this day in 1030.

July 29, 1958 ~ NASA established.
On July 29, 1981, Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Go to article »

Turn your desktop into a calming portal to somewhere else. -The NY Times.

Here is the list of 2020 Emmy nominees:
Did your favorite quarantine binge watch make it? –CNN.
 
A clue to Van Gogh’s last day is found in his last painting -Bloomberg.

The World’s Best Restaurants Right Now

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A field of sunflowers is in full blossom in Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises.
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP

A crow sits in the back light of the rising sun on a wooden pole and basks in Riedlingen-Zell, Germany.
CREDIT: THOMAS WARNACK/DPA

James, 6, and his sister Charlotte Box, 3, pictured among a field of bright, purple blooms near Dorchester in Dorset.
CREDIT: BNPS

An elephant and giraffes at a watering hole in Nxai Pan National Park, Botswana. These stunning animal silhouettes look as if they are walking the edge if the earth as they gather to share a drink at a watering hole
CREDIT: JANNE KEAYER/MERCURY PRESS
Market Closes for July 29th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26539.57	+160.29
		+0.61%
S&P 500	3258.44	+40.00
		+1.24%
NASDAQ	10542.945	+140.853 +1.35%
TSX	16294.66	+173.34
		+1.08%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22397.11	-260.27
		-1.15%
HANG SENG	24883.14	+110.38
		+0.45%
SENSEX	38071.13	-421.82
		-1.10%
FTSE 100*	6131.46	+2.20 +0.04%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.479	0.476
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.957	0.944
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5708	0.5773
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2324	1.2168

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74980	0.74740
US $	1.33369	1.33796
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.57242	0.63596
US $	1.17901	0.84817

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1940.90	1936.65
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.27	41.04

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1869, the New York Stock Exchange was formed from the merger of the New York Stock & Exchange Board with the Open Board and the Government Board (where Treasury bonds were traded).
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets rallied on Wednesday after Shopify Inc. climbed to a new record as its sales doubled.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1.1% in Toronto. Shopify climbed 6.8% after the e-commerce platform nearly doubled its revenue in the second quarter, crushing analysts’ estimates as a flood of merchants moved their businesses online during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Element Fleet Management Corp. was the best performing stock, surging 12%, after TD upgraded its rating to buy from hold after the company posted a stronger outlook on “several fronts.”
Meanwhile, about one in seven small- and medium-sized Canadian companies surveyed at the end of June by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said they are at least somewhat considering bankruptcy or winding down operations as a result of Covid-19. That would represent about 158,000 businesses in addition to the ones that have already closed, CFIB said.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.75 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to ~$1,968.46 an ounce FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose slightly to C$1.3343 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.476%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.1 percent at 16,294.66 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.7 percent on July 14 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.2 percent.
Today, information technology stocks led the market higher, as 9 of 11 sectors gained; 144 of 221 shares rose, while 72 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 7.1 percent. Element Fleet Management Corp. had the largest increase, rising 12.0 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 5 percent
* The index declined 1.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI  AC Americas Index gained 7.5 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.8 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 5.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.3 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.45t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.05 percent compared with 12.94 percent in the previous session and the average of 18.11 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | 83.6771| 5.2| 9/1
Energy | 37.6033| 1.9| 21/3
Financials | 34.9091| 0.8| 22/3
Industrials | 31.7487| 1.7| 19/9
Consumer Discretionary | 6.7398| 1.2| 9/4
Utilities | 6.2019| 0.8| 14/2
Real Estate | 5.5956| 1.1| 24/2
Consumer Staples | 3.5491| 0.5| 8/2
Communication Services | 3.0923| 0.4| 5/3
Health Care | -6.5979| -3.7| 3/5
Materials | -33.1572| -1.3| 10/38
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks advanced with Treasuries, while the dollar retreated after the Federal Reserve signaled continued stimulus to prop up the world’s largest economy.
The S&P 500 extended its July rally as the Fed kept rates near zero in a widely anticipated decision, pledging to use all of its tools to support a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Chairman Jerome Powell said there are signs the increase in infections is starting to weigh on activity while noting that the path forward for the economy is “extraordinarily uncertain.” Investors also sifted through a batch of corporate earnings, with Qualcomm Inc. surging in extended trading on a strong sales forecast.
As the pandemic continues to rage in parts of the U.S., hot spots in Europe and across big emerging economies, governments are having to double down on the $11 trillion dollars worth of stimulus and unprecedented central bank support unleashed since the crisis began. The Fed has kept rates pinned near zero since the outbreak’s onset in March and rolled out several emergency lending programs geared toward fostering liquid trading conditions in financial markets.
“The Fed’s large, looming presence and ability to act more if needed has provided a backstop for risk assets over the near term,” according to Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. “The focus now shifts to the FOMC’s September meeting, when investors might expect more action,” he said, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee.
Meanwhile, Scott Minerd, chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners, said a failure in Washington to agree to another Covid-19 relief package could push unemployment higher, undermining the stock market and forcing the Fed to expand asset purchases.
“We are in a particularly vulnerable time of the year for risk assets,” Minerd said Wednesday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “The markets could get easily rattled.”
Some corporate highlights:
* Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gave strong forecasts, suggesting the company is winning orders from larger rival Intel Corp. in the lucrative market for server chips.
* Starbucks Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson said a key measure of sales turned positive in July.
* Boeing Co. delayed the debut of its newest plane and slowed production across the heart of its commercial lineup as cash burn worsened.
* General Motors Co. reported its first quarterly loss since it emerged from bankruptcy, but the balance-sheet damage was less than expected.
* General Electric Co. predicted slow gains in operations this year and next after the pandemic battered results in the second quarter.

Some 19% of S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far have reported per-share profits that beat or missed estimates by 50% or more. That’s the highest proportion of companies with surprises of this magnitude since at least 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence’s Gina Martin Adams and Wendy Soong show.
Yet earnings may fail to deliver the kind of support needed to sustain the four-month rally in American stocks any time soon, according to Liz Ann Sonders, Charles Schwab Corp.’s chief investment strategist. She compared the S&P 500 with its forward earnings, based on projected profit during the next 12 months, in a report Monday. While the S&P 500 made up 85% of the gap between this year’s high and low through Tuesday, the profit gauge only rebounded 20%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Earnings will eventually need to do more than just beat an extremely low bar” to justify the surge in share prices, she wrote.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., L’Oreal SA, Credit Suisse Group AG and Samsung Electronics Co. report earnings Thursday; results from Chevron Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. are due Friday.
* U.S. second-quarter GDP is expected on Thursday.
* China PMI data comes Friday.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 climbed 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.3%.
* The euro increased 0.5% to $1.178.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.1% to 105.02 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 0.56%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.50%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.118%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.7%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.6% to $41.29 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.5% to $1,967.58 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Adam Haigh, AnchaleeWorrachate, Todd White, David Wilson, Amena Saad, Elena Popina,
Claire Ballentine and Katherine Greifeld.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Defeat is not the worst of failures.  Not to have tried is the true failure.
                                          -George Edward Woodberry, 1855-1930

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:
Indian schoolgirls discover an Earth-bound asteroid. -Bloomberg.

Scientists pull living microbes, possibly 100 million years old, from the sea bottom.-Bloomberg.

1914 – World War 1 begins.
1945 – A U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York City’s Empire State Building, killing 14 people. Go to article »
2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army call an end to their thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A surfer rides a wave at South Narrabeen in Sydney, Australia. Sydney is bracing for heavy winds and large surf after over 100 millimetres of rain was recorded on Sunday.
CREDIT: MARK EVANS/GETTY IMAGES

These five baby alpacas were “unpacked” during the lockdown to the delight of their owners. Newborn Mr. Softee was only born on July 19, and the oldest of the five babies is Casey, born on May 29. Dark brown Sahara Fonc is expected to become a prize-winner at shows when she competes, as is fawn-coloured Akoya when he goes into the ring. The other female alpaca is named Qilaut, and three of the babies are half-siblings as they have the same father. Delighted owners Stuart Ramsay, 56, and wife Jean McDonald, 64, love watching the babies playing together. They own 37 alpacas at their farm, Velvet Hall Alpacas, in Innerleithen, Scottish Borders.
CREDIT: KETIELEE ARROWSMITH/SWNS

A showdown between a lioness and a male lion royal Asiatic lions. The Gir Forest, Gujarat, India
CREDIT: URMIL JHABERI/SWNS

Hot air balloons flying over Zhangye Geopark in northwest China’s Gansu Province. The geological park was approved as a Global Geopark by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 209^th session in July.
CREDIT: PEISHEN/XINHUA NEWS AGENCY/EYEVINE
Market Closes for July 28th , 2020 

Market Index	Close	Change
Dow Jones	26379.28	-205.49
		-0.77%
S&P 500	3218.44	-20.97
		-0.65%
NASDAQ	10402.094	-134.174 -1.27%
TSX	16121.32	-40.01
		-0.25%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market Index	Close	Change
NIKKEI	22657.38	-58.47
		-0.26%
HANG SENG	24772.76	+169.50
		+0.69%
SENSEX	38492.95	+558.22
		+1.47%
FTSE 100*	6129.26	+24.38 +0.40%

Bonds

Bonds	% Yield	Previous % Yield
CND. 10 Year Bond	0.476	0.520
CND. 30 Year Bond	0.944	0.989
U.S.    10 Year Bond	0.5773	0.6085
U.S. 30 Year Bond	1.2168	1.2512

Currencies

BOC Close	Today	Previous
Canadian $	0.74740	0.74858
US $	1.33796	1.33587
Euro Rate 1 Euro=		Inverse
Canadian $	1.56778	0.63785
US $	1.17176	0.85342

Commodities

Gold	Close	Previous
London Gold Fix	1936.65	1902.10
Oil
WTI Crude Future	41.04	41.60

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1971, Wells Fargo launched the world’s first stock-index fund with $6 million from the pension fund of Samsonite. The trader executing the orders for the new fund immediately acquired the sarcastic nickname “Discount Diane.” 
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell on Tuesday, led by energy and consumer discretionary stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite index fell 0.3% in Toronto, after rising 1% yesterday. Energy, consumer discretionary and financials were the worst sectors, while health care and real estate climbed.
Energy stocks declined along with crude oil prices as investors turned their focus to domestic supplies, with expectations for another buildup in already swollen U.S. stockpiles. Some of underperforming energy stocks included Vermilion Energy Inc. and Meg Energy Corp., both of which dropped more than 5%. Canopy Growth Corp. was among the top performers, rising 15% on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Bank of Nova Scotia is planning to keep most of its headquarters employees working from home for the rest of the year as part of an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.7% to ~$1,956.21 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell slightly to C$1.3381 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell almost 5 basis points to 0.474%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 16,121.32 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1 percent. Suncor Energy Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.1 percent. Vermilion Energy Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.9 percent.
Today, 108 of 221 shares fell, while 110 rose; 5 of 11sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 3.9 percent
* The index declined 2.5 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.3 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.3 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.3 percent in the past 5 days and rose 6.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21 on a trailing basis and 24.6 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.94 percent compared with 13.14 percent in the previous session and the average of 18.36 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -24.2460| -0.5| 9/16
Energy | -17.5232| -0.9| 7/17
Materials | -9.7741| -0.4| 19/28
Industrials | -6.2983| -0.3| 15/13
Consumer Discretionary | -4.3300| -0.8| 5/8
Communication Services | 0.2240| 0.0| 4/4
Information Technology | 0.4662| 0.0| 5/5
Consumer Staples | 1.4724| 0.2| 6/5
Utilities | 2.7801| 0.3| 9/7
Real Estate | 6.3471| 1.3| 23/4
Health Care | 10.8667| 6.6| 8/1
US
By Rita Nazareth, Claire Ballentine and Sarah Ponczek
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell as traders assessed corporate earnings amid a resurgence in global coronavirus cases. Bonds rose.
The S&P 500 trimmed its monthly gain as worse-than- estimated results from McDonald’s Corp., 3M Co. and Harley- Davidson Inc. sent their shares slumping. Pfizer Inc. climbed after the drugmaker raised its earnings forecast and began a later-stage trial for a coronavirus vaccine with its German partner. Eastman Kodak Co. soared on news that it received a U.S. government loan.
Some of the largest companies report earnings this week, and investors will look for clues on whether a resurgence of Covid-19 around the world will derail a recovery of corporate profits and the economy. The Federal Reserve extended most of its emergency lending programs by three months, through the remainder of 2020. A drop in consumer confidence added to evidence that the pace of the rebound is cooling as the virus interrupts reopenings in several states.
“We’ve seen a number of beneficiaries of the lockdowns and a lot of companies really hurt by the lockdowns,” said Bill McMahon, chief investment officer of active strategies for Charles Schwab Investment Management. “There is still a lot of uncertainty about the rest of the year in how they guide.”
The pandemic continues to rage in parts of the U.S., hot spots in Europe and across big emerging economies including India and Brazil. Governments are having to double down on the $11 trillion dollars’ worth of stimulus and unprecedented central bank support unleashed since the crisis began. The Fed is set to announce its rate decision Wednesday, and the market anticipates a dovish statement.
“There’s enough stimulus and support in the market from a monetary policy perspective, but also from fiscal, and that keeps a nice floor under the market,” said Amanda Agati, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group. “But we also think it’s going to be very difficult to make a lot of forward progress in this environment.” Nasdaq’s biggest companies may struggle to surpass a performance milestone from the height of the 1990s dot-com era, according to Julian Emanuel, head of equity and derivatives strategy at BTIG LLC.
The Nasdaq-100 was leading the S&P 500 for a 10th straight month as of Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. If the tech-heavy gauge hangs onto the lead through Friday, it will match a record streak between May 1999 and February 2000 – the final months before both indexes peaked. The latest run is at risk because of “poor share-price reactions to otherwise solid earnings reports” and other issues, he wrote.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The Federal Open Market Committee holds its policy meeting on Tuesday, with an announcement due on Wednesday.
* Earnings include Rio Tinto and Barclays on Wednesday; Thursday brings Apple, Amazon.com, Alphabet, L’Oreal, Credit Suisse and Samsung; Chevron and Caterpillar are set for Friday.
* U.S. second-quarter GDP is expected on Thursday.
* China PMI data comes Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4%.
Currencies
* The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.1%.
* The euro declined 0.3% to $1.1716.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 105.08 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 0.58%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.51%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 0.109%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index was little changed.
* West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.6% to $40.92 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 0.9% to $1,959.72 an ounce.

–With assistance from Gregor Stuart Hunter, Andreea Papuc, Todd
White, Lynn Thomasson, David Wilson and Amena Saad.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Self-discipline is a form of freedom.  Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from expectations and demands of others, freedom from  weakness and fear – and doubt.
                                                                                                      -Harvey A. Dorfman, 1935-2011

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com