March 24, 2025 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Monday.

March 24, 1896:aleksndr Popov achieves the first radio transmission, sending the words “Heinrich Hertz’ between two buildings at St. Petersburg University, pioneering wireless communication.
March 24, 1973: The album “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd was released.
March 24, 1989: Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Harry Houdini, magician, b.1874.

Simple blood tests could be the future of cancer diagnosis
Around four years ago, now 77-year-old John Gormly went for what was supposed to be a routine blood test. But the results were life-changing.  The test suggested Gormly had colon cancer, which a colonoscopy later confirmed was Stage 2, meaning the cancer had spread through the wall of the colon but not to his lymph nodes.  “I thought [my doctor] was wrong,” Gormly, CEO of a construction company near Newport Beach, California, told Live Science. “I go, ‘Nah, I don’t feel anything.’ But there it was. It was real; the colonoscopy showed it.”  Gormly was one of the first patients to take a newly approved test called Shield, which its makers say can detect colon cancer from a blood sample. After his diagnosis, Gormly had surgery to remove the tumor and was back at work within 10 days.  “Liquid biopsies” like the one that detected early cancer for Gormly are now coming to market. Could they lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment?  Read More.

3,200-year-old Egyptian tomb may belong to military commander who served under Ramesses III
The ancient Egyptian tomb holds the remains of a man with a gold ring bearing the name of Ramesses III. Read More.

Chinese scientists use laser drones to count the country’s trees — all 142.6 billion of them
Researchers have counted the number of trees in China and mapped their distribution across the country using a laser-based technique called lidar. Read More.

Yellowstone’s iconic bison herds have merged into a single entity after 100 years of wandering the park
More than 100 years after bison from other regions were introduced to the park, the two genetically distinct herds have finally become one. Read More

Men’s March Madness games finalized
The second round of the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is over and the Sweet 16 is set. See which teams made the cut.

Sleepy debut for ‘Snow White’
Disney’s big-budget live-action remake of the 1937 classic earned $43 million at the domestic box office this weekend — slightly less than early industry estimates predicted.

Famed French restaurant loses a little star power
Georges Blanc, the world’s longest-standing Michelin-starred restaurant, suffered a setback last week. Although the French eatery has boasted a three-star rating since 1981, the Michelin Guide announced it was now a two-star restaurant.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

West Bengal, India
A squirrel clings to a tree in Siliguri
Photograph: Diptendu Dutta/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Muslims perform late-night prayers at the Grand Mosque
Photograph: Saudi Press Agency/Reuters

​​​​​​​Erbil, Iraq
A crescent moon rises above Zaniary Tower, the highest point in the city
Photograph: Ahsan Mohammed Ahmed/Anadolu/Getty Images
Market Closes for March 24^th, 2025

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
“Don’t do something; just stand there.” -Legendary Investor Jack Bogle’s advice during a crises, 1929-2019.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose 1.3% at 25,304.11 in Toronto.
The index advanced to the highest closing level since Feb. 28 after the previous session’s decrease of 0.4%.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 4.7%.
Mag Silver Corp. had the largest increase, rising 5.9%.
Today, 163 of 218 shares rose, while 51 fell; 10 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* In the past year, the index had a similar or greater gain seven times. The next day, it advanced five times for an average 0.5% and declined twice for an average 0.2%
* This quarter, the index rose 2.3%
* This month, the index fell 0.4%
* The index advanced 15% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 10% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.2% below its 52-week high on Jan. 30, 2025 and 17.9% above its low on June 17, 2024
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.1% in the past 5 days and rose 0.6% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.9 on a trailing basis and 15.5 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$4.02t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.41% compared with 15.07% in the previous session and the average of 13.57% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 131.8429| 1.7| 24/1
Information Technology | 82.7223| 3.4| 8/2
Energy | 56.2042| 1.3| 40/2
Industrials | 46.2538| 1.5| 26/2
Materials | 6.6133| 0.2| 26/21
Consumer Discretionary | 6.4347| 0.8| 8/2
Real Estate | 5.1670| 1.1| 12/7
Utilities | 3.0683| 0.3| 7/7
Consumer Staples | 2.4948| 0.3| 8/2
Health Care | 0.9566| 1.4| 4/0
Communication Services | -6.1355| -1.1| 0/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
Shopify | 59.7100| 4.7| -26.9| 2.3
RBC | 30.5700| 1.9| 6.1| -4.2
Brookfield Corp | 23.8500| 3.1| -9.8| -4.0
Alamos Gold | -1.9180| -1.7| 1.1| 38.6
BCE | -1.9850| -1.0| -19.3| -3.2
Telus | -2.4440| -1.2| 58.7| 1.4
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks rallied as traders snapped up battered tech shares, extending an advance driven by signs US trade policies will be more targeted than anticipated, with President Donald Trump saying he may give a lot of countries breaks on tariffs.
Bonds fell alongside gold.
The dollar wavered.
Wall Street’s risk-on bid lifted shares of nearly all stripes — from small to big caps — in a rebound that followed a selloff from all-time highs that challenged the notion of US exceptionalism.
The S&P 500 rose almost 2%.
Tesla Inc. soared 12% to lead gains in mega caps.
That’s after a slide that put the group of “Magnificent Seven” tech giants on track for its worst quarter since 2022.
A closely watched gauge of chipmakers climbed 3%.
The crypto world surged.
“Stocks look to continue to rally from oversold levels, and any reduction in potential tariff impacts will be an upward catalyst,” said Ivan Feinseth at Tigress Financial Partners.
“I believe we have seen the worst of the market’s pullback, though we will continue to see increased volatility at the beginning of next month based on the outcome of President Trump’s tariff policies.”
Markets gripped by anxiety about an all-out trade war got relief from signs the coming wave of tariffs is shaping up as more focused than the sprawling, fully global effort Trump has otherwise mused about.
The president said his tariff rollout next week would focus on so-called reciprocal duties, featuring rates on a country-by- country basis corresponding to levies and other trade barriers on US products.
Trump twice on Monday signaled trading partners would receive possible exemptions or reductions.
The S&P 500 rose 1.8%.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed 2.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4%.
A gauge of the Magnificent Seven mega caps gained 3.4%.
The Russell 2000 advanced 2.5%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose nine basis points to 4.33%.
With improved risk sentiment, 16 issuers tapped the US high-yield market.
Oil climbed as Trump said he would seek a 25% tariff on nations buying crude and gas from Venezuela.
“We said last week that we had already seen ‘peak chaos’ in US tariff policy,” said Thierry Wizman at Macquarie.
“Events over the weekend seemed to confirm that regularization and rationalization of tariff policy is coming, followed by negotiations and concessions.”
A growing chorus of central bankers and finance ministers around the world have expressed concern that a global trade war would inhibit economic growth and fuel inflation — a combination that would make it difficult to calibrate an effective interest-rate response.
“Yes, tariffs hurt the economy by complicating capex decisions about the future,” said Scott Wren at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
“But today the issue is mainly price increases, which we foresee as incremental and diluted. What’s more, the economy has slowed from 2024, but we think to a sustainable pace.”
Meantime, equity strategists from JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Evercore ISI are advising clients that the worst of the recent downturn is likely behind them.
“The US equity pullback has put a dent in US outperformance over the rest of the world,” said BlackRock Investment Institute’s Strategists including Jean Boivin and Wei Li.
“We stay overweight US stocks and see opportunities across global stocks.”
Last week’s lack of any major tariff news and a dovish outcome from the Federal Reserve helped bring buyers back into the market, according to Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial.
On Friday, the S&P 500 halted a stretch of four straight weeks of losses.
Since 1928, Turnquist says the end of those streaks has sent the US benchmark gauge up 1.2%, 2.9%, and 4.6% over the subsequent one-, three-, and six-month periods, respectively.
Whether the rally can reassert itself will largely depend on earnings growth taking the baton from valuation expansion as the key driver of market performance, according to Christian Floro at Principal Asset Management.
“For gains to continue, earnings growth must take over — a transition that has historically extended market cycles,” he said.
“While inflation and policy uncertainty risks remain, improving earnings breadth across sectors and industries and potential tailwinds from monetary and fiscal policy could provide support.”
Floro noted that earnings breadth is improving, with growth expanding beyond technology into more cyclical industries.
Consensus expectations that project 10.2% earnings growth in 2025 also suggest a revival in bullish sentiment, he noted.
“Historical trends suggest that when earnings take the baton from valuations, markets can continue to climb,” Floro said.
“Investors should closely watch earnings revisions and policy developments as key indicators for the path ahead.”

Some of the main moves in markets**:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 1.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%
* The MSCI World Index rose 1.3%
* Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 3.4%
* Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index rose 3%
* The Russell 2000 Index rose 2.5%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0802
* The British pound was little changed at $1.2922
* The Japanese yen fell 0.9% to 150.66 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 3.7% to $88,249.07
* Ether rose 4.9% to $2,090.87
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced nine basis points to 4.33%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.77%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.71%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $69.23 a barrel
* Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,006.33 an ounce

–With assistance from Sujata Rao, Allegra Catelli and Catherine Bosley.
Have a  lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
What is the soul?  The soul is consciousness.  It shines as the light within the heart.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

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)
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com