June 20, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On June 20, 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. The conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
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PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A jellyfish is illuminated at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut.  The aquarium was founded in 1973.
CREDIT: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Chipmunks look out near the ninth hole during the fourth round of the US Open golf tournament at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconson, UK.
CREDIT: DAVID J. PHILLIPS
Market Closes for June 20^th, 2017

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
Number of the Day
1.66%
The S&P 500’s tech sector rose 1.66% on Monday, its largest single-day percentage gain of 2017.
Canada
By Natalie Wong
     (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks dropped to a 2017 low as oil entered a bear market after falling to the lowest level in nine months.
     The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.8 percent to 15,149.60 at the close, as energy stocks dropped 2 percent. Crude oil fell 2.2 percent to 43.23 per barrel.
     Cenovus Energy Inc. sank 8.1 percent to an all-time low following CEO Brian Ferguson’s retirement announcement. Meg Energy Corp. fell 4.4 percent, the lowest all year.
     In other moves:
* Enbridge Inc. dropped 2 percent, Suncor Energy Inc. dropped 2.3 percent, and Canadian National Railway Co. fell 1.3 percent
* Financials moved down 0.5 percent as Canadian Western Bank slipped 1.7 percent and Manulife Financial Corp. fell 0.9 percent
* Home Capital Group Inc. rose 4.3 percent, after selling $874 million of commercial loans to KingSett
* Copper fell 1.2 percent after posting the biggest decline in six weeks, as the advancing dollar makes raw materials priced in greenbacks more expensive in other currencies.
US
By Jeremy Herron and Meenal Vamburkar
     (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell the most in a month, retreating from all-time highs as crude oil slid into a bear market on concern the global supply glut will persist. China’s yuan got a small bump after MSCI Inc. added the nation’s domestic stocks to its emerging-markets index.
     The S&P 500 Index lost 0.7 percent for its biggest decline since May 17 as energy producers and companies whose profits are most linked to economic growth, including makers of non- essential consumer goods and industrial producers, led declines. The dollar rose as Fed officials continued to reiterate a moderately hawkish stance on monetary policy. Treasuries rose.
     The MSCI decision will add 222 China A-share stocks starting in May 2018. The index provider delayed its decision on the status of Argentina’s stocks and will consult on the possible inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the index. China’s $6.8 trillion onshore market is the world’s second largest and accounts for 9 percent of global stock value, but had been rejected for index inclusion three times by MSCI over issues including capital controls and long trading halts. Hong Kong shares retreated ahead of the decision.
     Stocks in the U.S. faltered as the weakness in crude and other commodities dents arguments from American central bankers that weak inflation rates will be transitory, even as the economy shows few signs of distress and haven assets have not been in demand. The Fed raised rates last week. Stocks had barreled to fresh highs after a series of geopolitical concerns seems to have faded, though formal negotiations over Britain’s exit from the European Union began somewhat contentiously.
     Read more: Torturous Road to Brexit Seen by Most in Barclays Investor Poll
     Here are some of the key upcoming events:
* Still to come on the Fed speaker list: Eric Rosengren, Robert Kaplan, Jerome Powell, James Bullard and Loretta Mester.
     Here are the main moves in markets:
     Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 2,437.08 at 4 p.m. in New York. Energy stocks and consumer discretionary producers slumped 1.3 percent to lead the gauge lower. Industrial and phone stocks fell 1.1 percent.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3 percent after it ended Monday at a record, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.8 percent.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 erased a gain to end 0.7 percent lower. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index declined 0.7 percent.
     Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3 percent after advancing 0.4 percent on Monday. The measure touched the lowest level since October last week.
* The British pound fell 0.8 percent to $1.2631 for a second day of losses as Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said he is still worried about the impact of Brexit on the economy.
* The euro was down 0.2 percent to $1.1126.
* The yen gained 0.1 percent to 111.445 per dollar. The currency retreated 0.6 percent on Monday.
     Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.16 percent, after rising four basis points Monday. The yield curve flattened amid demand for longer-dated maturities.
* Benchmark yields in the U.K. fell four basis points.
     Commodities
* West Texas oil fell more than 20 percent from its highest close this year. It was down more than 2 percent Tuesday to settle at $43.23 a barrel, the lowest since August.
* Gold futures slipped 0.2 percent to $1,244 an ounce, after closing Monday at the lowest in more than a month.
* Copper posted its biggest loss in six weeks as the dollar strengthened.
Have a wonderful evening everyone.

Be magnificent!

I see these things with an intense joy,
and while I observe, there is no observer, only a beauty almost like love.
For an instant, I am absent, myself and my problems, my anxieties, my troubles: nothing but this wonder exists.
Krishnamurti

As ever,

Carolann

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.
                                                          -Willa Carter, 1873-1947

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
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com