July 27, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Want to learn to draw? Start with your shoe.–The NY Times.

This summer, three spacecraft are blasting off to explore Mars. Learn more about their missions.-The NY Times.

Stephen Hawking suggested the universe has no beginning; scientists are starting to doubt that–Bloomberg.

SpaceX satellites keep cluttering up images of comets and such. (h/t Mike Smedley) –Bloomberg.

July 27, 1921~Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto.
July 27, 1866: Atlantic telegraph cable laid.
On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.  Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

People row hired boats as they enjoy the summer weather on the River Nidd, underneath the Knaresborough Viaduct in North Yorkshire.
CREDIT: DANNY LAWSON/PA WIRE

The Pacaya volcano, seen from Cerro Chino in San Vicente Pacaya municipality about 55 km south of Guatemala City
CREDIT: JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP

People gather ourdoors at dusk on a viewpoint in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/FELIPE DANA
Market Closes for July 27th , 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1694, amid choral chants of “Laus Deo” (Praise the Lord), the Bank of England opened for business in London to print currency and manage the national debt.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equity markets climbed on Monday, led by health care and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite index rose 1% in Toronto. Health Care stocks were the best performers, led by stocks such as Aphria Inc. which climbed 12%. Materials stocks also outperformed led by gold and silver miners. Gold hit a record high after a plunge in the U.S. dollar, negative real rates in the U.S. and bets the Federal Reserve will keep policy accommodative when it meets this week.
Silver also followed gold price’s rally.
Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in Canada showed renewed strength on an improving outlook for real estate and the economy, weekly telephone polling showed. The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a composite measure of financial health and economic expectations, recorded its biggest one-week jump since mid-June, to 48.4 from 46.7 a week earlier.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.9% to ~$1,937.38 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose slightly to C$1.3360 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield edged higher to 0.521%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1 percent at 16,161.33 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.7 percent on July 14 and follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.1 percent.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 153 of 221 shares rose, while 65 fell.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.7 percent. Aphria Inc. had the largest increase, rising 12.0 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index rose 4.2 percent
* The index declined 2.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 6.7 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 10.1 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 44.6 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is little changed in the past 5 days and rose 6.4 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 24.7 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$2.43t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.14 percent compared with 12.98 percent in the previous session and the average of 18.63 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 87.2200| 3.5| 45/5
Information Technology | 51.0343| 3.3| 10/0
Health Care | 5.5838| 3.5| 6/3
Communication Services | 4.4338| 0.5| 7/1
Industrials | 3.7771| 0.2| 17/11
Consumer Discretionary | 3.4425| 0.6| 9/3
Utilities | 3.3322| 0.4| 10/6
Energy | 2.4795| 0.1| 11/11
Consumer Staples | 2.0880| 0.3| 8/3
Financials | 0.4815| 0.0| 17/8
Real Estate | 0.4023| 0.1| 13/14
US
By Rita Nazareth and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed, led by technology shares, on speculation the Federal Reserve will reinforce its dovish message. Gold jumped to a record, while the dollar fell.
The S&P 500 erased last week’s drop as the rebound in tech overshadowed a slide in banks. A slew of earnings reports from Nasdaq 100 companies over the next few days will offer clues on whether the gauge’s record-breaking advance through mid-July has been justified. Moderna Inc. soared after getting a second round of U.S. funding for an experimental vaccine for Covid-19 and kicking off its late-stage trial.
Setbacks in the global fight against coronavirus will probably push Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to signal Wednesday that rates will stay near zero for longer. Infections slowed in California, Arizona and Florida, though reported numbers are often incomplete on weekends. High-frequency economic indicators are pointing to a slowdown, which will only reinforce the Federal Open Market Committee’s dovish guidance.
“There can be some encouragement from low interest rates in terms of risk appetite,” said Chad Oviatt, director of investment management at Huntington Private Bank. “The Fed keeping interest rates low is still simulative and that’s a good thing to have when there is uncertainty around the pace of economic recovery.” Hedge funds rushed to unwind their bullish bets on U.S. tech stocks last week. They cut their net-long positions in Nasdaq 100 mini futures in half after pushing them to a nearly three-year high earlier this month.
Here are some key events coming up:
* Earnings include Apple, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Chevron, RioTinto, L’Oreal, Caterpillar, Samsung, Barclays and Credit Suisse.
* The Federal Open Market Committee holds its policy meeting on Tuesday, with an announcement due on Wednesday.
* 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 rose 0.7% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.8%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.9%.
* The euro climbed 0.8% to $1.1746.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.7% to 105.40 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased two basis points to 0.61%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield dipped four basis points to -0.49%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 0.109%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.5%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.8% to $41.62 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1.9% to $1,938.65 an ounce.

–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger, Adam Haigh, Todd White, Yakob Peterseil, Lynn Thomasson and Cormac Mullen.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Rare though true love may be, true friendship is rarer still.
             -François Duc de La Rochefoucauld, 1630-1680

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