June 10, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
June 10, 1943: Ballpoint pen patented.
1935: Alcoholics Anonymous founded.
1922: Judy Garland, actress, b.
1963: US Equal Pay Act signed into law by President John F. Kennedy.

13,300-year-old Chinese bird figurine found in the trash. (h/t Scott Kominers), Bloomberg.

A UK museum is reimagining its famous paintings with face masks
Art imitates life, and all of that. -CNN.

Black hole’s heart is still beating.  –Bloomberg.

A local organic flower farmer in the Skagit Valley whose farm is the subject of an upcoming documentary tells you what to plant in the Northwest, when and how to arrange flowers for maximum impact and longevity. -The Seattle Times.

On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire. Go to article »
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A 5G-robot, that is able to measure the temperature of a person, speaks to an employee, COVID-19 outbreak in Linz, Austria
CREDIT: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER

Artists perform during a protest to honor people who have died of COVID-19 at the Cultural Complex of the Republic in Brasilia, Brazil
CREDIT: SERGIO LIMA/AFP

Workers add a protective face mask on a seven-meter-tall giraffe made of 45,000 Lego pieces prior to the reopening of the Legoland Discovery Centre, after being shut due to covid-19 pandemic, in Berlin, Germany
CREDIT: SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for June 10th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1997, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 7,500 for the first time, and The Wall Street Journal noted that the market’s climb “seems to inspire equal parts awe and dread among many investors.”   Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 26,989.99 – a +260% increase since 1997; +11.3%/annum on an annualized basis.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s views on the economy.
The Federal Reserve pledged to maintain at least the current pace of asset purchases and projected interest rates will remain near zero through 2022, as Chairman Jerome Powell committed the central bank to using all its tools to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.8%, with eight of 11 sectors lower. Energy and health care were especially weak while materials was among gainers. Gold prices rebounded after the Federal Reserve signaled it would maintain asset purchases and unprecedented stimulus aimed at stemming the impact from the pandemic.
Dollarama Inc. is sticking with its brick-and-mortar business model despite a slump in foot traffic through its retail stores during the lockdown.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at an $8.95 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.3% to $1,737 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1% to C$1.3402 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield fell 6.5 basis points to 0.562%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.8 percent, or 132.41 to 15,701.33 in Toronto.
Enbridge Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.6 percent. MTY Food Group Inc. had the largest drop, falling 10.1 percent.
Today, 157 of 229 shares fell, while 71 rose; 8 of 11 sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 17 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* The index declined 3.2 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 9.3 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 12.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 40.5 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.8 percent in the past 5 days and rose 4.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.6 on a trailing basis and 26.1 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.4t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 18.57 percent compared with 20.07 percent in the previous session and the average of 24.78 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -84.6227| -1.8| 3/23
Energy | -74.3017| -3.4| 0/30
Industrials | -17.9642| -1.0| 4/27
Real Estate | -11.0901| -2.2| 4/22
Utilities | -10.4260| -1.3| 2/14
Consumer Discretionary | -9.9524| -1.7| 1/13
Health Care | -4.2330| -2.5| 3/7
Communication Services | -1.3823| -0.2| 5/3
Information Technology | 7.5827| 0.6| 7/3
Consumer Staples | 16.4541| 2.5| 10/1
Materials | 57.5269| 2.8| 32/14
US
By Rita Nazareth and Katherine Greifeld
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks and the dollar fell as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s views on the economy. Treasuries rallied.
The S&P 500 ended the session lower after getting whipsawed as Chairman Jerome Powell suggested the pandemic could inflict permanent damage on the economy even as the Fed signaled it would keep rates near zero possibly for years to come. The Treasury curve steepened sharply after the central bank said it will at least maintain the current rate of bond purchases.
“It seems like profit-taking is underway after the Fed didn’t deliver any new measures,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “It’s not as easy to take risk at this point.” U.S. equities have rallied more than 40% from their March lows as central-bank asset purchases and unprecedented stimulus sparked demand for risk assets. Earlier Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the U.S. “definitely” needs additional fiscal stimulus.
Stocks may be the ultimate beneficiary of trillions of dollars in economic stimulus from the Fed, according to Savita Subramanian, Bank of America Corp.’s chief U.S. equity
strategist. “Liquidity looking for a home” is bolstering the FANG stocks — Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Netflix Inc. and Google’s owner, Alphabet Inc. — along with their technology- driven peers, she wrote in a report this week.
The danger, though, is that any complication in the economic recovery could see market gains swiftly reverse — at a time when there’s less room for additional support. The pandemic is splintering the world economy, and policy makers can’t risk a premature withdrawal of lifelines to businesses and the most vulnerable people, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development warned.
What to watch this week:
* Euro-area finance ministers meet Thursday to discuss the EU’s recovery package and Eurogroup presidency succession.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 decreased 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.4%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.6%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%.
* The euro advanced 0.4% to $1.1388.
* The Japanese yen appreciated 0.6% to 107.14 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped 10 basis points to 0.73%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.33%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield dipped seven basis points to 0.267%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index increased 0.4%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.3% to $39.05 a barrel.
* Gold gained 1.5% to $1,747.80 an ounce.

–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, Robert Brand,
Todd White, David Wilson, Claire Ballentine, Vildana Hajric and Katherine Greifeld.
Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

Security is mostly a superstition.  Life is either
a daring adventure or nothing.
                  -Helen Keller, 1880-1968

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