June 5th, 2024, Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
June 5, 1967: Six-Day War begins between Israel and the neighbouring Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot and mortally wounded just after claiming victory in California’s Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested.  Go to article >>

Adam Smith, economist, b.1723.
1981: AIDS first noted.

“Don’t let it end like this.  Tell them I said something.” –Pancho Villa, revolutionary, b.  June 5, 1878.

The brain can store nearly 10 times more data than previously thought, study confirms
Scientists harnessed a new method to precisely measure the amount of information the brain can store, and it could help advance our understanding of learning. Read More.

Viking sword with ‘very rare’ inscription discovered on family farm in Norway
The ancient weapon seems to be a rare type of iron sword made in the Frankish Empire. Read More.

Stunning ‘parade of planets’ image shows 6 worlds aligned over Earth
A stunning photo of the recent “parade of planets” shows Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in alignment over Earth. It was captured from the U.K. on June 1. Read More.

A ‘new star’ could appear in the sky any night now. Here’s how to see the Blaze Star ignite.
The “Blaze Star” T Coronae Borealis will erupt with a magnificent explosion sometime between now and September, becoming visible to the naked eye. Here’s how to find it when it does. Read More.

Kids discover extremely rare teen T. rex fossils sticking out of the ground during North Dakota Badlands hike
“Teen Rex” is about to go on display for the first time and appear in a new T. rex documentary, thanks to a discovery made by three young boys. Read More.

Future of food: vertical strawberries?
Watch this video to see how farmers — and robots — are working together to grow high-tech strawberries in vertical structures.

Lionel Messi creates new sports drink
Soccer superstar Lionel Messi will release his new energy drink next week. Despite his global fandom, industry experts say the beverage will still face a challenging market with longstanding competitors.

San Diego Padres player Tucupita Marcano banned for life by MLB
The 24-year-old Padres infielder has been banned for life by Major League Baseball for gambling on baseball games.

King Charles III bank notes are in circulation.

Eleven Madison Park is opening a cocktail bar.

The deep sea is home to some crazy-looking animals.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Camp Hill, US
Pennsylvania’s wildlife agency, firefighters and police use a large blue tarpaulin to catch a wayward black bear as it falls from a tree
Photograph: Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News/AP

Dartmoor, UK
‘We were driving home from a wonderful walk and the light became really interesting, so we stopped and watched the sunset. The tree is one I have photographed in all seasons. It’s incredibly tough and rugged, and it’s really special to me.’
Photograph: Lucia Grun

Launceston, Tasmania
‘Aurora australis at nightfall in Hillwood.’
Photograph: Imogen Hewitt
Market Closes for June 5^th, 2024

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1883, John Maynard Keynes was born in Cambridge, England. He became one of the most influential economists of all time, devising theories in the first half of the  20th century that led to massive government intervention across the Europe and the U.S.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 0.8% at 22,145.02 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s decrease of 0.6%.
Today, materials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 179 of 222 shares rose, while 39 fell.
TC Energy Corp. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.2%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 7.1%.
Insights
* This quarter, the index was little changed
* The index advanced 11% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 24% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.8% below its 52-week high on May 21, 2024 and 18.5% above its low on Oct. 27, 2023
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.1% in the past 5 days and rose 0.9% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.9 on a trailing basis and 15.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.49t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 10.75% compared with 10.70% in the previous session and the average of 9.59% over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | 38.4512| 1.5| 44/5
Industrials | 33.3058| 1.1| 24/2
Energy | 27.9045| 0.7| 28/10
Information Technology | 23.7167| 1.4| 9/1
Financials | 15.0922| 0.2| 17/10
Utilities | 8.2222| 1.0| 12/3
Consumer Discretionary | 8.1648| 1.0| 11/2
Real Estate | 6.9883| 1.6| 19/1
Consumer Staples | 3.3250| 0.4| 8/3
Communication Services | 0.9557| 0.1| 3/2
Health Care | 0.7308| 1.2| 4/0
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TC Energy | 12.4300| 3.2| 67.7| 5.3
Brookfield Corp | 7.7140| 1.3| -44.8| 11.1
Shopify | 7.3610| 1.1| -21.8| -18.7
Great-West Lifeco | -2.6520| -3.4| -29.3| -8.4
Bank of Montreal | -4.6240| -0.8| -23.7| -9.4
Nutrien | -6.6860| -2.5| 18.4| 2.2
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — The world’s largest technology companies drove stocks to all-time highs, while bond yields fell with traders almost fully pricing in two Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024.
The S&P 500 hit its 25th record this year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 2%.
Nvidia Corp. — the poster child of artificial-intelligence frenzy — led a rally in the “Magnificent Seven” mega-caps to hit $3 trillion in value.
Apple Inc. rose for an eighth straight day — the longest winning run since March 2022.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. soared on strong AI server sales.
“The AI revolution is set to drive further growth,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management.
“US stocks are likely to remain supported. In addition to a strategic allocation to the tech sector, we see a particular opportunity in small-cap stocks supported by the beginning of the Fed’s easing cycle.”
Just 48 hours ahead of the US jobs report, a private payrolls reading showed hiring at companies grew at the slowest pace since the start of the year.
Meantime, the services sector expanded by the most in nine months, powered by the largest monthly gain in a measure of business activity since 2021.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to close above 5,350.
Treasury 10-year yields dropped five basis points to 4.28%.
Swap contracts continued to show bets on a first Fed cut in November, and possibly another in December.
The loonie edged lower after the Bank of Canada became the first Group of Seven central bank to kick off an easing cycle.
The euro was little changed, with the European Central Bank expected on Thursday to start a rate cutting cycle before the Fed for the first time ever.
The Japanese yen dropped almost 1%.
Bitcoin topped $71,000.
A “wall of money” from passive equity allocations will pour into the stock market in early July, setting up a continuing rally through the early summer, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Scott Rubner.
Since 1928, the first 15 days of July have been the best two-week trading period of the year for equities, and they tend to fade after July 17, according to Rubner.
The S&P 500 has been positive for nine straight Julys, posting an average return of 3.7%.
The Nasdaq 100 has an even better record, posting gains in 16 straight Julys, with an average return of 4.6%, he noted.
“The slow and steady march higher for equity markets continues to confound the bears,” said Mark Hackett at Nationwide.
“The latest stretch is being attributed to shifting views of Fed policy, though the more accurate reason is that buying pressure from retail and institutional investors, share buybacks, and growing M&A activity provides a healthy backdrop.”
Investors are refocusing on mega-caps, and for good reason, according to Ed Clissold at Ned Davis Research.
After a strong May, the top 10 stocks account for 35.7% of the S&P 500 Index’s market cap — a record since at least 1972, he noted.
“US mega-caps have become investor favorites due to their ability to generate enough cash flow to both reinvest it into their businesses, with AI being the recent favorite, and return it to shareholders via dividends and buybacks,” Clissold said.
With earnings season basically over, the focus now turns back to the macro data — and that may impact stocks near-term, according to Gillian Wolff at Bloomberg Intelligence
The Bloomberg Intelligence Market Pulse Index, a sentiment gauge that acts as a contrarian signal, advanced within striking distance of “manic” territory last month.
It’s a rare sign that has typically tempered US stock returns in the short-run.
In the three months following a manic reading, the Russell 3000 Index has gained an average 1.7%, compared with 9.1% after panic.
With the Fed widely expected to stay on hold next week, the focus of the meeting will be the new Summary of Economic Projections.
Back in March, Fed officials maintained their outlook for three rate cuts in 2024.
“The ‘dots’ are likely to cluster around one or two interest rate cuts this year,” said Stephen Brown at Capital Economics.
“Nevertheless, as inflation falls a bit faster than officials expect and GDP growth disappoints, our base case remains that the Fed will cut in September.”

Corporate Highlights:
* CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. delivered first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, despite a pullback in spending that has challenged its cybersecurity rivals.
* Boeing Co. finally launched its space taxi into orbit with NASA astronauts on board, and is on target to dock with the International Space Station on Thursday.
* Alphabet Inc. named Eli Lilly & Co. executive Anat Ashkenazi as its new chief financial officer, replacing Ruth Porat who announced last year she planned to step down.
* Discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc. is reviewing options for its troubled Family Dollar business, including a potential sale or spinoff.
* A top Senate Republican is asking a government watchdog to investigate nearly $1.7 billion in financing offered last month to hydrogen company Plug Power Inc., alleging potential conflicts of interest and risks to US taxpayers.
* ASML Holding NV became Europe’s second-biggest listed company, overtaking LVMH by market value for the first time ever.

Key events this week:
* Eurozone retail sales, ECB rate decision, Thursday
* US initial jobless claims, trade, Thursday
* China trade, forex reserves, Friday
* Eurozone GDP, Friday
* US unemployment rate, nonfarm payrolls, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index surged 1.2% to 5,354.01 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 38,807.45.
The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2% to 17,187.91.
The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 0.9% to 794.79.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,251.86.
The euro was little changed at $1.0874.
The British pound climbed 0.2% to $1.2792.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.8% to 156.09 per dollar.
Bitcoin jumped 1.3% to $71,347.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased five basis points to 4.28%.
Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 2.51%.
Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 4.184%.
Commodities
The Bloomberg Commodity Index advanced 0.6% to 101.87.
West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.2% to $74.15 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 1.2% to $2,354.14 an ounce.

–With assistance from Chiranjivi Chakraborty, Julien Ponthus, Cecile Gutscher, Sujata Rao, Jessica Menton, Natalia Kniazhevich and Ye Xie.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann
Diligence is the mother of good luck. –Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790.

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