December 30, 2024 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

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

December 30, 1906: Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy
December 30, 1924:  Astronomer Edwin Hubble formally announces the existence of other galactic systems at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society
December 30, 1963: Congress authorizes Kennedy half dollar, in honor of John F. Kennedy
December 30, 1993: Israel and the Vatican agreed to recognize one another. Go to article

Sunlight shapes our evolution — and may explain why some people have curly hair
Light helps explains the evolution of our skin color, why some of us have curly hair, and the size of our eyes. And light still shapes us today. Read more.

2,000-year-old RSVP: A birthday invitation from the Roman frontier that has the earliest known Latin written by a woman
This wafer-thin wooden tablet from a first-century Roman fort in the U.K. includes a heartfelt birthday party invitation. Read more.

From lost planets to human-caused meteor showers
From the mysterious Planet Nine to the prospect of a “human-caused meteor shower,” space and physics editor Brandon Specktor lists his favorite stories of 2024. Read more.

Hubble captures a cosmic snow angel created by a bright, young star
Created by a young star, the bipolar star-forming region Sharpless 2-106 in this Hubble image depicts how intense the star-formation process can get. Read more.

What is embodied AI?
Embodied AI enables robots and autonomous drones to interact with the real world, but how does it work? Read more.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Rongcheng, China
Fishers work at a kelp farming area in Ailun Bay, in eastern China’s Shandong province
Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

Weehawken, US
The Empire State Building in New York City is illuminated in red, white and blue to mark the death of the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter
Photograph: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

The Taunus mountain range, Germany
Cars drive through a forest with frozen trees near Frankfurt
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Market Closes for December 30, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.7%, or 175.81 to 24,620.59 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 2.2% on Dec. 18.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 1.8%.
Mag Silver Corp. had the largest drop, falling 4.0%.
Today, 175 of 223 shares fell, while 46 rose; 10 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 17%, poised for the best year since 2021
* This quarter, the index rose 2.6%
* This month, the index fell 4%
* The index advanced 17% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 22% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4.7% below its 52-week high on Dec. 9, 2024 and 20.3% above its low on Feb. 13, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8% in the past 5 days and fell 4% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.3 on a trailing basis and 16.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.92t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.48% compared with 10.44% in the previous session and the average of 8.91% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -50.9196| -1.8| 2/49
Information Technology | -38.1652| -1.5| 0/9
Financials | -36.0854| -0.4| 4/22
Industrials | -30.9905| -1.0| 3/25
Consumer Staples | -11.0596| -1.1| 1/9
Consumer Discretionary | -7.6436| -0.9| 1/10
Real Estate | -5.9205| -1.2| 0/20
Communication Services | -3.5591| -0.6| 0/5
Utilities | -2.9648| -0.3| 3/11
Health Care | -0.8547| -1.2| 1/3
Energy | 12.3453| 0.3| 31/12
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | -24.0300| -1.8| -40.6| 48.5
RBC | -12.8800| -0.8| -4.1| 29.1
Canadian National | -8.7560| -1.5| -43.3| -13.1
CIBC | 2.9100| 0.5| 50.2| 42.8
ARC Resources | 2.9880| 2.9| -19.3| 32.3
Tourmaline Oil | 7.0420| 4.5| 1.7| 15.8
US
By Rheaa Rao and John Viljoen
(Bloomberg) — A banner year for US stocks is ending poorly as a retreat in technology stocks extended a stretch of losses that began when the Federal Reserve cooled expectations for interest-rate cuts two weeks ago.
It was the third consecutive decline for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, and also the third time the indexes dropped more than 1% in eight sessions.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is on track for its best year since 2015.
Treasuries rallied on Monday, with the 10-year yield hovering around 4.54%.
Yields had declined further after Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index data showed an unexpected decline.
Data on Monday also showed pending sales of US homes increasing for a fourth month in November to the highest level since early 2023.
This year, the so-called Magnificent Seven cohort of US tech giants has driven an advance of more than 20% in the S&P 500, while prompting some to worry that the gains are too concentrated in a small group of names.
Still, few are calling for the rally to end and none of the 19 strategists tracked by Bloomberg expects the S&P 500 to decline next year.
“In these moments, it’s best to stay put,” said Nicolas Domont, a fund manager at Optigestion in Paris.
“The US remains the place to be. Growth stocks continue to outperform and earnings forecasts are good, so there are good reasons to remain optimistic.”
Elsewhere, Europe’s Stoxx 600 index retreated, while Asian stocks snapped five days of gains.
Trading volumes were thinner because of the holiday season.
“There’s a little bit of trepidation heading into year-end, owing in part to uncertainty over how the international trade picture may take shape in 2025,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at Kohle Capital Markets Pty.
“Some traders are taking risk off the table heading into year-end.”
It’s the final session of 2024 for some markets including Germany, where the DAX benchmark saw a 19% annual advance.
Among commodities, oil edged higher as traders focused on 2025 risks.
US natural gas futures soared as the weather outlook for January shifted colder.
Gold is set for a blockbuster year.

Key events this week:
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Tuesday
* New Year’s Day holiday, Wednesday
* US construction spending, jobless claims, manufacturing PMI, Thursday
* US ISM manufacturing, light vehicle sales, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 4:06 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.9%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.0401
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2548
* The Japanese yen rose 0.7% to 156.78 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $94,002.87
* Ether rose 1.3% to $3,388.21
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined nine basis points to 4.54%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.37%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.61%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $71.13 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $2,607.81 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Julien Ponthus and Elena Popina.

Have a wonderful evening!

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Shab
“A great book begins with an idea; a great life, with a determination.” — Louis Dearborn L’Amour

Shab Mohammadpour

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

Tel: 778.430.5808
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com