March 29, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On March 29, 1973, the last United States troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.  Go to article »

March 29, 1999: Dow Jones tops 10,000 for the first time.

Miss art museums? The Louvre just put its entire art collection online
To get the full museum effect, have a friend stand by and grumble disapprovingly every time you get too close to the screen.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

The Szechenyi Chain Bridge is illuminated with white color as a national tribute for the doctors, nurses and medical workers who are fighting against the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic in Budapest, Hungary
CREDIT: MARTON MONUS/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

A farmer drives a vehicle in order to push the sheep back to their shelter near the Mont-Saint-Michel, northwestern France
CREDIT: SAMEER AL-DOUMY?AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The sun sets behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany
CREDIT: MICHAEL PROBST/AP

A police officer applauds during a Tribute to the essential health care workers at Hospital Universitario de Mostoles in Spain.
CREDIT: LEGAN P.MACE / SOPA IMAGES/SIPA USA

Market Closes for March 29^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1989, Michael Milken was indicted on 98 felony charges of violating Federal securities laws as head of the junk-bond desk at Drexel Burnham Lambert.  Prosecutors disclosed that he earned $550 million in compensation in 1986.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Monday after paring a bigger slump earlier in the day. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2%, with pot and technology stocks among laggards. Consumer staples were strong. Health officials in Canada are halting the rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine to people under 55 over concerns it could lead to blood clots in rare circumstances. Oil climbed to the highest in almost two weeks as traders looked ahead to this week’s OPEC+ meeting with speculation that renewed demand concerns will spur the group to keep production in check.
Commodities
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $10.25 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.2% to $1,711.60 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.1% to C$1.2593 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 3.4 basis points to 1.535%

(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 18,719.22 in Toronto. The move follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.0 percent. Westport Fuel Systems Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.4 percent. Today, 157 of 231 shares fell, while 70 rose; 7 of 11 sectors were lower, led by information technology stocks.

Insights
* This quarter, the index rose 7.4 percent
* This month, the index rose 3.6 percent
* The index advanced 48 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI
AC Americas Index gained 59 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 1.7 percent below its 52-week high on
March 17, 2021 and 49.2 percent above its low on March 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 0.5 percent in the past 5 days
and rose 3.6 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of
27.6 on a trailing basis and 16.7 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.7 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.92t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.61 percent compared with
11.60 percent in the previous session and the average of 13.22 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Information Technology | -21.9636| -1.2| 2/9
Financials | -10.5782| -0.2| 10/18
Energy | -6.4215| -0.3| 8/15
Consumer Discretionary | -5.8884| -0.8| 3/10
Real Estate | -5.8645| -1.0| 2/24
Health Care | -4.4017| -1.6| 0/10
Materials | -0.6634| 0.0| 15/35
Communication Services | 2.0871| 0.2| 4/4
Utilities | 2.8929| 0.3| 9/6
Industrials | 3.0756| 0.1| 8/22
Consumer Staples | 14.3556| 2.1| 9/4
US
By Claire Ballentine and Olivia Raimonde
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped from record highs as investors weighed the potential fallout from forced block sales on the rest of Wall Street. Oil rose and Treasury yields climbed higher. The financial sector weighed on the benchmark S&P 500 for much of the day following revelations that banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley liquidated holdings in Bill Hwang’s family office Archegos Capital Management on Friday after he failed to meet margin calls. Boeing Co. lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to another all-time high after the aircraft maker announced a large order. The Nasdaq Composite finished in the red. Credit Suisse, Nomura Slump as Banks Tally Archegos Damage “Investors are whistling in the dark as they try to determine how wide the Archegos-related pain will spread,” said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. “You’re seeing a tug-of-war play out between those who believe the situation is benign and those who worry about a systemic risk.”
Small ripples of the forced unwind were felt in credit markets. Nomura had to take the rare step of canceling a bond deal that had already priced after its loss warning. The investment grade credit default swaps index, a gauge of U.S. credit fear, was relatively calm, even though traders are demanding a higher cost to hedge against losses on the debt of banks that have been caught up in the Archegos situation, including Nomura and Credit Suisse. A dollar gauge rose and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields pushed higher. The Stoxx 600 gauge extended its highest level in 13 months. Investors have been focusing on the strength of the recovery, aided by vaccines, and inflation risks.
Later this week, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to unveil a further stimulus program with a tilt toward infrastructure. U.S.-China ties are also in focus, after a report that Washington isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but may be open to trade talks. “Now, as we talk about additional stimulus — there will still be some of that — but you are going to have to start to balance it with the proposed tax increases,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer of Bryn Mawr Trust. “Because as we talk about more and more spending, it becomes very clear that taxes are going to increase, it’s just a matter of by how much.” West Texas Intermediate crude swung between gains and losses before turning higher. Traders focused on the demand impact of renewed coronavirus lockdowns before the OPEC+ policy discussions on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Ever Given was freed to allow the reopening of the Suez Canal. Elsewhere, Bitcoin headed for the biggest one-day gain in two weeks.

Some key events to watch this week:
* President Biden is expected to unveil his infrastructure program Wednesday.
* EIA crude inventory report Wednesday.
* OPEC+ meets to discuss production levels for May on Thursday.
* China Caixin PMI due Thursday.
* U.S. employment report for March on Friday.
* Good Friday starts the Easter weekend in countries including
the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia and Canada.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index declined 0.1% to 3,971.10 as of 4:05 p.m. New York time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.3% to 33,171.37, the highest on record.
The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 0.6% to 13,059.65.
The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.1% to 12,965.74.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.2% to 427.61, the highest in about 13 months.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2% to 1,150.47.
The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.1765.
The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3761.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 109.80 per dollar, the weakest in a year.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased three basis points to 1.71%, the highest in more than a week.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 2.41%, the highest in more than a week.
Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.32%, the highest in a week.
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 0.788%, the highest in a week on the largest gain in more than a week.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1% to $61.56 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
Gold depreciated 1.2% to $1,711.50 an ounce, the weakest in three weeks on the largest drop in almost four weeks.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent.
As ever,

Carolann

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. — Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865.

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