June 30, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
History’s biggest lightning bolt was 440 miles long. – Mike Smedley, Bloomberg.

Gravitational wave detectors pick up a massive collision between a black hole and a mysterious object.-Bloomberg.

June30, 1938: Superman first appears in DC Comics’ Action Comic Series issue #1.

On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, freed The New York Times and The Washington Post to resume immediate publication of articles based on the secret Pentagon Papers on the origins of the Vietnam War.  Go to article »

PHTOS OF THE DAY

Phoebe Tegetmeier who has broken through the ‘grass’ ceiling as she becomes the only female roof thatcher in Yorkshire and one of the only in a few in the country. Phoebe, 32, who has been learning the art of thatching with her father for the past 14 months and hopes to take over the family business, in York.
CREDIT: JAMES HARDISTY/SWNS

A new 360° display that pays homage to Claude Monet is set to open to the public in France. Berlin artist Yadegar Asisi’s new cylindrical artwork is an immersive experience suffused with colour, light and shadow.
CREDIT: N/A

One of the world’s tallest buildings stretches above a city shrouded in thick fog The 461 metre-tall Landmark 81 was almost the only structure visible as clouds swirled around Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
CREDIT: TRUNG ANH/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for June 30^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1938, in a move the New York Stock Exchange had resisted for a decade, William McChesney Martin was elected the NYSE’s first paid, independent president. In a striking sign that he took his independence seriously, Mr. Martin immediately sold his stake in his own brokerage firm and auctioned off his seat on the Exchange. His starting salary: $48,000.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian shares rose on the last day of June, notching a 16% gain for the second quarter, the most since the three months that ended in June 2009. The S&P/TSX Composite index 0.8% on Tuesday. Materials stocks were the best performers, while consumer staples fell the most. Gold futures rose above $1,800 an ounce for the first time in more than eight years as low interest rates and a resurgence in coronavirus cases drive demand for the metal as a haven. Canada’s economic activity collapsed in April, with output dropping the most on record in the first full month of lockdowns to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Gross domestic product shrank by 11.6%, adding to the 7.5% decline in March, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in Ottawa. Economists had anticipated a 12% contraction.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,781.47 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar rose 0.6% to C$1.3577 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose to 0.528%
By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.8 percent, or 125.5 to 15,515.22 in Toronto. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 2.1 percent. Real Matters Inc. had the largest increase, rising 8.6 percent. Today, 167 of 222 shares rose, while 54 fell; 8 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 16 percent, heading for the biggest advance in at least 10 years
* This month, the index rose 2.1 percent
* The index declined 5.3 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.5 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 13.7 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 38.9 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 2.1 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.4 on a trailing basis and 24.8 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.4 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.34t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 19.88 percent compared with 19.86 percent in the previous session and the average of 20.31 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 45.3479| 2.0| 47/4
Financials | 35.6742| 0.8| 23/2
Information Technology | 19.6656| 1.2| 6/4
Industrials | 17.3444| 1.0| 24/4
Utilities | 8.1399| 1.1| 14/2
Real Estate | 7.1548| 1.5| 23/4
Health Care | 0.2152| 0.1| 3/5
Energy | 0.2007| 0.0| 14/10
Consumer Discretionary | -1.4927| -0.3| 7/6
Communication Services | -3.2881| -0.4| 2/6
Consumer Staples | -3.4668| -0.5| 4/7
US
By Rita Nazareth and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks climbed on the final day of the best quarter since 1998 as investors assessed better-than- estimated economic data amid concern over new coronavirus cases and trade relations with China. The S&P 500 extended its second-quarter rally to 20% as a report showed consumer confidence posted its biggest increase since 2011. The Nasdaq Composite Index soared 31% in the span, the most since 1999, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 18% and notched its best quarter in 33 years. Treasuries and the dollar fell. Gold traded near $1,800 an ounce. After the close of regular trading, FedEx Corp. soared as the economic bellwether used an efficiency drive and a surge in health-equipment deliveries to shore up earnings – softening the drag on profit from an increase in less lucrative residential deliveries. Uber Technologies Inc. jumped on Tuesday after a news report that it’s in talks to buy Postmates Inc.
Meanwhile, Boeing Co. sank after one of its largest European customers scrapped a $10.6 billion purchase deal. Despite the quarterly surge in equities, optimism has been shaken as accelerating virus infections threaten to set back re-openings and, with them, any economic progress. New cases could rise to 100,000 a day if behaviors don’t change, infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci said. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed to Congress Tuesday that getting the coronavirus under control was vital as the U.S. economy rebound. After massive monetary and fiscal policy stimulus, signs that the crisis may linger longer will probably increase pressure for more aid. “The downside has become more limited given how many investors missed the rebound, how many remain bearish and how much cash has been sitting on the sidelines,” wrote Esty Dwek, head of global market strategy for Natixis Investment Managers. “Coupled with abundant stimulus measures and liquidity, corrections are likely to be bought. That said, we remain prudent and believe it is too early to add a lot of risk to portfolios.”
Equities briefly pared gains Tuesday after the Federal Communications Commission designated Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. as national security threats. Traders also monitored news that Hong Kong for the first time banned its biggest annual protest march, a decision attributed to outbreak-control measures that comes after Chinese lawmakers approved sweeping national security legislation for the former British colony. Optimism for reopenings and an economic recovery helped consumer-discretionary stocks in the S&P 500 surge the most ever in the second quarter. Technology shares surged 30%, while utilities underperformed. In terms of what’s ahead, “stocks moved into a second phase of recovery in June, where slower and choppier gains are more likely to occur as Fed-driven valuation expansion gives way to economic and earnings progress as the primary driver of returns,” said Bloomberg Intelligence’s Gina Martin Adams.
Here are some key events coming up:
* The monthly U.S. jobs report will be released on Thursday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.8%.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.9%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.1%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.7%.
Currencies
*The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.
* The euro dipped 0.1% to $1.1232.
* The Japanese yen depreciated 0.3% to 107.95 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries jumped three basis points to 0.66%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to -0.45%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.172%.
Commodities
* The Bloomberg Commodity Index advanced 1.1%.
* West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.9% to $39.35 a barrel.
* Gold climbed 1% to $1,798.80 an ounce.

–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Constantine Courcoulas, Lu
Wang, Sophie Caronello, Nancy Moran, Lynn Thomasson, Amena Saad and Claire Ballentine.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Step out of the history that is holding you back.
Step into the new story you are willing to create.
                                -Oprah Winfrey, b.1954.

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