July 25, 2023, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
July 25, 1885: Louis Pasteur successfully administers the firs rabies vaccine to a human, revolutionizing the field of immunization and paving the way for advancements in preventing infectious diseases.
July 25, 1978 The first baby conceived by in-vitro fertilization was born in Oldham, England.  Go to article >>

Pilgrimage of St. Anne d’Auray, France.
St. James the Great Day, Christian calendar.

Moviegoers have spotted a blooper in ‘Oppenheimer’.  Eagle-eyed fans noticed that some American flags used in the film bear the wrong number of stars.

The rise of gig workers is changing the face of the US economy.  Labor market experts say the number of gig workers is growing, and their alternative working arrangements are rippling through the economy.

Casey Phair becomes youngest player in World Cup history.  South Korea forward Casey Phair became the youngest player to appear at the World Cup — just a few weeks after celebrating her 16th birthday.

Twitter’s new logo ‘X’ is set to kill billions in brand value

Invisible barrier that runs through Indonesia finally explained by scientists
Researchers now understand why there is an uneven distribution of animal species on either side of the Wallace Line. Read More.

Bizarre ‘relic galaxy’ is missing a key component of the universe, and scientists are stumped
A massive galaxy far from Earth seems to be entirely devoid of dark matter, contrary to all accepted cosmological models. Read More.

AI is transforming every aspect of science. Here’s how.
In the future, research labs will embrace the transformative potential of artificial intelligence to speed up scientific discovery. Read More.

Grizzly bear believed to have killed woman on Buttermilk Trail near Yellowstone National Park
The suspected attack comes after officials warned that grizzly bears were moving into new areas in the state. Read More.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Gilgit, Pakistan: A view of K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, from Concordia camp in the Karakoram range of Gilgit-Baltistan.  Photograph: Joe Stenson/AFP/Getty Images

San Francisco, US: A worker removes letters from the Twitter sign that is posted on the exterior of Twitter headquarters in California. Workers began removing the letters from the sign outside Twitter headquarters less than 24 hours after the firm’s CEO, Elon Musk, officially rebranded Twitter as X and has changed its iconic bird logo, the biggest change he has made since taking over the social media platform. San Francisco police halted the sign removal shortly after it began.  Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Rhodes, Greece: A wildfire in Vati village. A third successive heatwave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40C across parts of the country following more evacuations from fires.  Photograph: Petros Giannakouris/AP
Market Closes for July 25^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1893, nearly one-quarter of U.S. railroads were heading into bankruptcy. It was the low point of the Panic of 1893 and caused the New York Stock Exchange to nearly close down.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.1% at 20,551.53 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
TC Energy Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 4.7%. ATS Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.1%.
Today, 91 of 228 shares fell, while 133 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2%
* The index advanced 7.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 15% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.4% below its 52-week high on Feb. 2, 2023 and 15% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9% in the past 5 days and rose 5.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.4 on a trailing basis and 14.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month  basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.26t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 10.05% compared with 10.05% in the previous session and the average of 10.82% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -49.5574| -0.8| 14/15
Information Technology | -8.9201| -0.6| 6/5
Energy | -8.3943| -0.2| 20/20
Communication Services | -6.6562| -0.8| 1/4
Consumer Staples | -2.5541| -0.3| 4/7
Health Care | -0.1660| -0.3| 2/2
Utilities | 0.4952| 0.1| 7/7
Consumer Discretionary | 1.0251| 0.1| 7/8
Industrials | 1.3005| 0.0| 14/12
Real Estate | 1.6351| 0.3| 14/6
Materials | 41.1867| 1.7| 44/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TC Energy | -17.1000| -4.7| 16.6| -10.2
Bank of Nova Scotia| -14.6700| -2.6| 52.7| -1.5
TD Bank | -13.9600| -1.3| -50.6| -2.8
Canadian Pacific Kansas | 5.0140| 0.7| 24.8| 8.1
First Quantum Minerals | 5.6500| 4.2| 10.0| 27.7
Canadian Natural Resources | 6.7500| 1.1| -39.0| 5.7
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — A rally in big tech drove stocks higher, with traders counting on the earnings season to see whether the enthusiasm around artificial intelligence will justify this year’s market advance.
In late trading, a $210 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) advanced as Google parent Alphabet Inc. reported revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Microsoft Corp. fell on tepid sales growth, while Texas Instruments Inc. gave a lukewarm earnings forecast.
The S&P 500 hit its highest since April 2022 on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq 100 outperformed and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its 12th straight advance — the longest winning run on over six years. On the eve of the Federal Reserve decision, consumer confidence data bolstered the soft-landing narrative, while suggesting policymakers aren’t done with their inflation fight yet.
With the S&P 500 just about 5% away from its all-time high, elevated bullish positioning and indicators pointing to overbought levels, many investors are counting on earnings to make a decision on where to go from here.
That’s especially true when it comes to big tech, with the Nasdaq 100 continuing to push higher even after an over $5 trillion rally that has spurred concerns about overstretched valuations.
“The next couple of weeks will be when the proverbial rubber hits the road for the Nasdaq 100,” said Matthew Weller, global head of research at Forex.com and City Index. “With the index still hovering near bull-market highs and up more than 40% on the year, investor expectations are clearly elevated — leaving little room for error.”
Treasury two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent Fed moves, dropped four basis points to 4.88%.
The dollar halted a five-day advance.
Rates on swap contracts continued to price in a quarter percentage-point Fed hike on Wednesday, with an additional 12.5 basis point increase factored in by year-end.
That indicates a 50% likelihood of another quarter-point move.
In other corporate news, Banc of California climbed on a news report it’s in advanced talks to buy PacWest Bancorp, which fell.
General Electric Co. and 3M Co. climbed after reporting earnings that blew past Wall Street’s expectations.
iRobot Corp. dropped after Amazon.com Inc. said it’s paying less to acquire the Roomba maker.
There are so many bulls in the US stock market that any disappointment on the economy or earnings poses a risk to the rally, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.
Investor exposure to the S&P 500 remains extended and one-sided, even after bullish momentum has waned in recent weeks, a team including Chris Montagu said.
Given that Wall Street had set a low bar coming into the reporting season, roughly 80% of the companies have thus far beaten profit estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“We are about to enter the height of earnings season,” said Brad Bernstein, managing director at UBS Wealth Management. “As long as earnings continue to exceed expectations, the market can continue to move higher.”
For traders who closely follow Fibonacci analysis, the S&P 500 Index this month crossed above 4,505 to reach the 76.4% retracement of its peak-to-trough decline from its January 2022 high and its subsequent October low.
Since 1929, when the benchmark equities gauge suffered a bear market decline of at least 20% or more, this retracement level proved to be the start of a new uptrend, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
So the index finishing above that level implies a bottom has definitely been set.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World index rose 0.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro was little changed at $1.1053
* The British pound rose 0.6% to $1.2900
* The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 140.88 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $29,193.95
* Ether rose 0.3% to $1,856.89
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.88%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.43%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.27%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $79.59 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,005.20 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jason Scott, Tassia Sipahutar, Sujata Rao and Isabelle Lee.
Have  a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power. –George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.

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