Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday!
July 3, 1775: George Washington officially took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
July 3, 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg ended with a decisive Union victory, marking a major turning point in the American Civil War.
July 3, 1886: Karl Benz test-drove the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely regarded as the world’s first practical automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.

July 3, 1971 Rock singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.Go to article

• Franz Kafka, writer, b. 1883.
• Tom Cruise, actor, b. 1962.
• Julian Assange, publisher and activist, b. 1971.

🔥Diminutive species ‘the Hobbit’ did not hunt or control fire, deepening the mystery of its ancestry, dwarf elephant bones reveal

The extinct human species Homo floresiensis was a scavenger, not a hunter, an analysis of fossil animal bones reveals.

🧬Elite families ruled nomadic Scythian society 2,500 years ago, DNA analysis reveals

Nomads of the Eurasian steppe were ruled by elite dynastic families, including women, a large-scale genetic analysis reveals.

🌞Machine-gun sun’ could bring auroras to more than a dozen states this Independence Day weekend

The sun launched 10 M-class solar flares over 24 hours, and more could be on the way. Auroras are likely in some US states as a result.

🛰️NASA mission to rescue a space telescope plummeting to Earth launches into orbit

NASA’s Swift Observatory is slated to enter Earth’s atmosphere later this year, but the Katalyst Space spacecraft is finally on its way to boost it higher this summer

🔭Hubble telescope spots ‘impossible’ light from a galaxy that shouldn’t have been visible

Researchers say the surprising discovery of the faraway galaxy MXDFz4.4 could help explain how the cosmos went from opaque to transparent billions of years ago.

🌍She set off traveling alone aged 13 and now she’s visited nearly every countrySophia Lee took her first solo trip at age 13 and fell in love with traveling instantly — and now she’s nine countries away from becoming the youngest person to visit every country in the world.

⚽Cape Verde’s fairytale story is about to run into Lionel Messi and Argentina

We all knew this World Cup would be good on the pitch. In truth, they always are. But this summer has been so dramatic and so exciting that it’s hard to keep up with all the storylines. Last night, we saw another heartbreaking moment for one team, when a dramatic VAR call denied Croatia a last-gasp equalizer (more on that later).

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Diyarbakır, Turkey

Children jump into a pool to cool off at Anzele Park as temperatures continue to rise

Photograph: Bestami Bodruk/Anadolu/Getty Images

London, UK

Deck chairs laid out on day five of the Wimbledon tennis championships
Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

Hayling Island, UK

Members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment conduct summer training on the beach
Photograph: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock

Market Closes for July 3rd, 2026

International Markets

Bonds

Commodities

Market Commentary:

🐠Canada 🪼
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 0.9%, or 308.16 to 35,274.84 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1% on June 15.
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.7%.
Southern Cross Gold Consolidated Ltd. Had the largest increase, rising 9.6%.
Today, 176 of 220 shares rose, while 38 fell; all sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* So far this week, the index rose 0.8%
* The index advanced 30% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 19% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1% below its 52-week high on June 17, 2026 and 31.4% above its low on Aug. 1, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.8 on a trailing basis and 16.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.51t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 13.25% compared with 13.03% in the previous session and the average of 14.10% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | 141.2083| 2.4| 56/4
Financials | 51.9844| 0.4| 20/2
Energy | 40.6851| 0.7| 32/5
Industrials | 33.1066| 0.9| 24/4
Information Technology | 23.6291| 0.9| 5/4
Consumer Discretionary | 8.2089| 0.8| 6/1
Utilities | 3.3754| 0.3| 8/6
Communication Services | 2.2078| 0.4| 3/2
Consumer Staples | 1.8611| 0.2| 5/5
Health Care | 1.4251| 1.2| 4/0
Real Estate | 0.4701| 0.1| 13/5
Agnico Eagle Mines |Ltd | 21.0200| 2.7| -76.5| -3.8
Barrick Mining | 15.3800| 2.4| -78.0| -7.1
Shopify | 15.1200| 1.0| -47.7| -22.4
Fortis | -1.1060| -0.4| -82.7| 14.7
Thomson Reuters | -1.5960| -1.4| -82.1| -31.1
Loblaw | -1.6420| -0.7| -61.0| 0.6
(MT Newswires)
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed sharply higher on Friday as gains across all sectors were supported by stronger than expected Canadian economic data, while higher gold prices and elevated market sentiments boosted investors’ confidence.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 308.17 points, or 0.88%, to 35,274.84, with all sectors ending higher.
Health Care led gainers, up 1.29%, with Battery Metals Index, up 0.97%, Industrials, up 0.90%, Information and Technology, up 0.79%, Energy, up 0.62%, Base Metals, up 0.92%, Financial, up 0.41%, Utilities, up 0.27%, and Telecom, up 0.60%.
In commodities, gold traded higher on Friday in light electronic trading as the dollar continued to weaken after a report the previous day showed weaker-than-expected U.S. job growth.
The precious metal for August delivery was last seen up 1.5% to $4,187.30 per ounce in thin trade with US markets closed ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
The rise comes after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday reported the economy added just 57,000 jobs last month, down from 129,000 in May and well below expectations for an increase of 115,000, according to MarketWatch.
Meanwhile, oil prices were mostly steady on Friday, hovering near four-month lows on expectations that the U.S. and Iran will reach a peace agreement and continue to free up ships trapped in the Persian Gulf.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery was last seen up $0.09 to $68.78 per barrel in light electronic trading, with US markets closed on Friday ahead of the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
September Brent crude was up 0.5% at $72.12.
On the macro front, recent data pointed to stronger momentum in the Canadian economy heading into the second quarter.
The Canadian economy started the second quarter on a stronger footing than expected, National Bank of Canada said in a note on Friday.
"While broad-based, the rebound was led by the energy sector, which saw a normalization in oil sands and pipeline activity following earlier disruptions," noted the lender adding that the sector is expected to contribute strongly to Q2 growth given the shift in demand toward producers outside the Middle East in a context where the Strait of Hormuz was closed for several weeks.
Canada’s real GDP grew 0.5% in April, surpassing the expected 0.4% increase and rebounding from the 0.1% decline recorded in March.
S&P Global’s Manufacturing PMI increased from 52.9 in May to 53.0 in June, a third consecutive month of expansion in the country’s factory activity.
"Production grew at a healthy clip, though it did not keep pace with the inflow of new orders. The result was a further expansion of work backlogs, which led to the largest increase in headcount since October 2024," added National Bank.
Looking ahead, Canadian manufacturers’ confidence in future output slipped to a 3-month low and was well below its long-term average, the bank said.
Meanwhile, the outlook for the Canadian dollar remained challenging, with Rosenberg warning of further weakness amid structural, cyclical and interest-rate pressures.
Rosenberg said Canadian loonie is in a "fundamental bear market" that suggests C$1.60 to the U.S. dollar is not out of reach.
"Another, more persistent challenge, is that Canada’s already massive productivity gap with the U.S. looks set to widen, with the U.S. in the throes of an AI-related investment surge, and with no major pro-business tax reforms looming in Canada.
A weaker Canadian dollar is the competitive crutch," Rosenberg wrote in a note on Friday.
The Canadian dollar faces such a dire situation, as it relates to a relentless loss of relative domestic productivity and cost competitiveness, that it is very likely to continue to weaken to C$1.50 first, and then toward C$1.60 by the end of 2027, added Rosenberg.
Additionally, the Labour Force Survey for June, to be released next Friday, could post a more moderate gain than May’s 88,000 surge in employment, wrote Scotiabank Economics in a note.
Derek Holt, who heads Scotiabank’s capital markets economics, is "guesstimating" a 10,000 gain.
"After the large 88k job gain in May it may be natural to assume that June could offer some payback. The historical evidence and the methodology employed by the Labour Force Survey would counsel against expecting as much," he said.
In real estate, Canadian average home prices are expected to dip 0.3% in annual average terms this year, TD Economics wrote in a note.
"Our estimate of first half price growth is roughly unchanged from March.
Looking ahead, we still see subdued second half gains, consistent with loose supply/demand balances, followed by a modest acceleration in price growth in 2027," said economist Rishi Sondhi.
TD’s upgraded sales growth expectations for British Columbia and Ontario for the second half of this year show average prices in B.C. moving sideways and Ontario’s falling further over the near term.
Prices in both markets are expected to turn positive in 2027.
In Quebec, price growth stays firm but continues to decelerate.
Alberta prices are cooling, while Saskatchewan’s "continues to run hot".
US

U.S. markets are closed today in observance of Independence Day, a federal holiday in the United States.

Have a lovely weekend.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Shima

"The best way to escape from your problem is to solve it"– Dr Robert Anthony- B. 1948

Shima Zangeneh

Assistant to Carolann Steinhoff

Queensbury Securities Inc.

340A – 730 View Street

Victoria BC V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778-430-5851

Fax: 778-430-5828