July 28, 2020 Newsletter

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 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

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