June 12, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to ”tear down this wall.”
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Shepherds move sheep during sunset in the Tatvan district of Bitlis, Turkey. ALI IHSAN OZTURK/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMA

A deer peers from a grain field near Reitwein, Germany. PATRICK PLEUL/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Market Closes for June 12^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Canada
By Kristine Owram
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower after briefly spiking more than 100 points earlier in the trading day, as technology shares tumbled for a second day and most other sectors traded in the red.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 89 points or 0.6 percent to 15,383.80. Tech stocks tumbled 2.1 percent amid a bigger rout in the sector. BlackBerry Ltd. lost 5 percent and Sierra Wireless Inc. fell 4.2 percent.
     The raw-materials index lost 0.8 percent as both base and precious metals fell, and financial shares slipped 0.7 percent even as bond yields rose. Energy stocks also fell, losing 0.6 percent, despite a gain in the price of crude.
     In other moves:
* Eldorado Gold Corp. fell 6.9 percent, the biggest decliner on the materials index. The company will be deleted from S&P/TSX 60 Index on June 19
* Intertape Polymer Group Inc. gained 1.7 percent. The company is buying Canadian Technical Tape Ltd. for approximately $63 million
* CCL Industries Inc. added 3.3 percent after S&P Dow Jones Indices said it will be added to the S&P/TSX 60 Index.
US
By Jeremy Herron
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. technology shares fell a second day after spreading to Asia and Europe on concern the group had risen too far too quickly. The pound retreated as an embattled Theresa May fought to survive the fallout from the British general election.
     The Nasdaq 100 Index capped its biggest two-day decline since September after closing Thursday with a 21 percent gain for the year. Samsung Electronics Co., ASML Holding NV and Tencent Holdings Ltd. led declines in Europe and Asia. Energy shares advanced, mitigating losses in the S&P 500 Index, as crude topped $46 a barrel. Treasuries and the dollar were little changed two days before the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.0
     The sudden slide in tech stocks, which had helped send global equities to repeated record levels this year, blindsided many investors after markets largely brushed aside last week’s trio of risk events. The question now is whether the drops represent merely a pause or a more fundamental crack in the U.S. stock bull market. The Nasdaq 100 fell as much as 2 percent before paring losses into the close.
     Meanwhile, in Washington the drama continues. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee to answer questions about alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. And the Fed is this week set to lift rates, leading a pack of central banks that are mostly nodding in the direction of removing ultra-accommodative policy.
     Here’s what investors will be watching:
* Sessions will testify before the Senate on Tuesday.
* Fed policy makers are forecast to raise their benchmark interest rate for the second time this year on Wednesday.
* Central banks in Japan, Switzerland and Britain are also scheduled to weigh in with policy decisions this week.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Stocks
* The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, adding to its 2.4 percent rout on Friday. Apple fell 2.5 percent while Microsoft Corp. slid 0.8 percent.
* Losses in the S&P 500 Index were muted, with the benchmark gauge down 0.1 percent. Energy and phone shares advanced more than 0.6 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 1 percent, with ASML Holding dropping 3.8 percent.
* France’s CAC 40 lost 1.1 percent even as Emmanuel Macron headed for a clear majority in the National Assembly. His success appears to be largely priced in.
* Emerging market equities slid 1.1 percent.
     Currencies
* The pound fell 0.7 percent to $1.2656. The currency lost 1.6 percent on Friday.
* The euro strengthened 0.1 percent to $1.1203.
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent after gaining 0.5 percent over the previous three sessions.
     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.21 percent.
* U.K. benchmark yields decreased four basis points, after dropping three basis points on Friday.
* French yields slipped five basis points while those in Germany fell one basis point.
* Italian 10-year yields tumbled seven basis points.
     Commodities
* West Texas crude futures rose 0.6 to settle at $46.08 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia sought to reassure investors that coordinated production cuts by OPEC and its partners are draining a global glut.
* Gold futures posted the longest losing streak in three months as investors anticipate the Fed will raise rates Wednesday. Bullion slipped 0.2 percent to settle at $1,268.90, for a fourth day of losses.
* Tin rebounded from the worst week since 2015, while copper declined.

Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

How can we be free to look and learn when our minds from the moment we are born
to the moment we die are shaped by a particular culture in the narrow pattern of “me?”
For centuries we have been conditioned by nationality, caste, class, tradition,
religion, language, education, literature, art, custom, convention,
propaganda of all kinds, economic pressure, the food we eat, the climate we live in,
our family, our friends, our experience – every influence you can think of –
and therefore our responses to every problem conditioned.
Are you aware that you are conditioned?
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to all our life.
                                                                                       -Daniel J. Boorstin, 1914-2004

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Portfolio Manager &
Senior Vice-President

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com