March 20, 202 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.  Happy first day of Spring!

March 20, 1602: Dutch East India Company is established; lasted 196 years.
March 20, 1852: Uncle Tom’s Cabin published.
March 20, 1997: Liggett Group settled 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teenagers and agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive. Go to article.

Ovid, writer, b. 43 BCE.
Henrik Ibsen, writer, b.1828.
Spike Lee, film-maker, b. 1957.

Scientists find evidence of ‘supernova graveyard’ at the bottom of the sea — and possibly on the surface of the moon
After finding the debris of two colliding stars swimming in the ocean, researchers are after more evidence from the lunar soil. Read More.

Spring has officially sprung!
The vernal equinox has arrived. Time to swap out your winter wardrobe and make plans to see the cherry blossoms.

Tesla booted from Vancouver auto show
A spokesperson for the show — which last year drew a record-breaking 130,000 visitors — said the removal was due to safety concerns.

Mikey Madison to make ‘SNL’ debut
The “Anora” star, who won her first Academy Award last month, will host the March 29 episode. Grammy-nominated country music singer Morgan Wallen will be the show’s musical guest.

Bruce Willis is ‘doing great,’ daughter says
The “Die Hard” star, who has been dealing with cognitive issues after being diagnosed with aphasia, turns 70 this week.

Bullfighting in Mexico City to become a little less dangerous
The city’s local congress passed a bill that would bar bullfighters from using spades or swords to attack the animal and require the bull to have its horns covered to avoid injuries to the matadors.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Tokyo, Japan
People visit Sensoji temple in Asakusa district, a popular sightseeing spot
Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Boats sail at sunset during Ramadan
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Frankfurt, Germany
Hares play in a field on the outskirts of the city
Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Market Closes for March 20^th, 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
If you like the story, buy the stock. –Peter Lynch.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite declined slightly to 25,060.24 in Toronto.
The move follows the previous session’s increase of 1.5%.
CGI Inc. contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 4.7%.
Today, 104 of 220 shares fell, while 111 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 1.3%
* This month, the index fell 1.3%
* So far this week, the index rose 2.1%, heading for the biggest advance since the week ended Nov. 22
* The index advanced 14% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 8.1% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 3.2% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 16.7% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 3.5% in the past 5 days and fell 1.8% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.8 on a trailing basis and 15.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.8% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$4.04t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.06% compared with 15.07% in the previous session and the average of 13.19% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -12.8777| -0.4| 18/31
Industrials | -12.5458| -0.4| 9/19
Financials | -11.1626| -0.1| 12/13
Communication Services | -8.8370| -1.5| 1/4
Information Technology | -4.6391| -0.2| 5/5
Consumer Discretionary | -3.8139| -0.5| 4/7
Real Estate | -0.9122| -0.2| 8/11
Health Care | 0.3673| 0.5| 3/0
Utilities | 1.1534| 0.1| 11/4
Consumer Staples | 2.3811| 0.3| 6/4
Energy | 41.9093| 1.0| 34/6
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
CGI Inc | -9.9910| -4.7| 50.1| -10.1
Canadian Pacific Kansas | -6.6750| -1.0| 8.2| 1.2
RBC | -6.6470| -0.4| -31.1| -6.0
Celestica | 4.2420| 4.0| -39.4| 3.3
TC Energy | 8.8770| 1.8| -8.8| 5.1
Enbridge | 9.6210| 1.0| -45.2| 3.8
US
By Rita Nazareth and Isabelle Lee
(Bloomberg) — A fresh bout of instability gripped the stock market as uncertainties around the potential impacts of a trade war outweighed the latest housing and jobs data showing the world’s largest economy is still holding up.
Equities erased earlier gains. Not only does sentiment remain fragile just a week after the S&P 500 slipped into a correction, the market is set for a big test on Friday.
That’s when an estimated $4.5 trillion of options contracts expire in an event ominously known as triple witching that often stokes volatility.
In late hours, FedEx Corp. — an economic barometer — fell after cutting its profit outlook.
Micron Technology Inc. gave an upbeat forecast.
Nike Inc.’s results surpassed analysts’ expectations.
“While the bottom of the recent correction is likely in, we probably haven’t seen the end of volatility,” said Daniel Skelly, head of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy Team.
“Policy uncertainty hasn’t disappeared, and the market remains sensitive to sentiment shifts.”
After keeping rates steady this week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell downplayed growth concerns and the price hits that could be on the way from a trade war.
President Donald Trump has promised “reciprocal” tariffs on at least some nations, but his administration has not specified which ones or at what rate.
“We will go up and down as policy uncertainty continues,” Michael Rosen, chief investment officer at Angeles Investments, said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York.
“Investor sentiment is going to be very volatile, and that will be reflected in the market.”
The S&P 500 fell 0.2%.
The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered.
Mega caps were mixed, with Apple Inc. down and Nvidia Corp. closing higher.
A gauge of homebuilders advanced after a surprisingly solid reading on existing home sales.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.24%.
The dollar rose 0.3%. The pound held losses as the Bank of England voted to stay put on rates amid a turbulent global backdrop.
“With any luck, the administration will repackage its messaging on tariffs where it should be, which will help remove the uncertainty that is plaguing markets at the moment,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group.
At Bespoke Investment Group, the strategists say the S&P 500 is looking to find some semblance of stabilization from what has practically been a straight down leg lower.
“Stabilization doesn’t mean immediately reversing and trading in a straight line higher,” they added.
“Usually, it takes a period of back-and-forth churning before the market can gain enough energy to stage a rally.”
Bespoke also highlighted the weekly survey from the American Association of Individual Investors showing that bearish sentiment came in at 58.1%.
That marks the fourth straight week of readings above 55% which has never happened in the survey’s history, the strategists noted.
“Stocks have staged a respectable recovery since the mid-March lows, and while it remains to be seen if the lows are in, the market action over the past month is extremely consistent with a correction and not a bear market,” said Clark Bellin at Bellwether Wealth. “We remain invested and are using the pullback in valuations across sectors to our advantage.”
To Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management, optimizing cash holdings and seeking durable income should remain a strategic priority.
Cumulative returns on US stocks are more than 200 times higher than for cash since 1945, underlining that the long-term underperformance of cash is a structural phenomenon, she noted.
“We recommend staying invested in stocks with hedges, and think that quality fixed income should remain an integral part of a resilient portfolio,” Marcelli said. “Investors can also consider diversified fixed-income strategies, senior loans, private credit, and equity income strategies to build diverse and durable portfolio income.”

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
* The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index was little changed
* The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.6%
* S&P Composite 1500 Homebuilding (Sub-Industry) rose 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
* The euro fell 0.5% to $1.0853
* The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2965
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 148.80 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $84,136.92
* Ether fell 3% to $1,974.2
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.24%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.78%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.65%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $68.26 a barrel
* Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Guard your tongue, for it is highly dangerous; unguarded words can cause terrible distress.  A single bad word can destroy a vast quantity of good.
A wound caused by fire will eventually heal; but a wound caused by the tongue leaves a scar that never heals. -Valluvar, 1479-1531.

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 (Text Only)
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com