May 11, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Happy Friday Eve.

May 11^th,1997: The Deep Blue IBM computer defeated Garry Kasparov to win a six-game chess match between man and machine in New York. Go to article >
May 11,868: The earliest surviving dated printed book is produced in China.  The “Diamond Sutra” is one of the most important texts in Mahayana Buddhism.  The British Library in London presently houses the copy.

Some of the 1st ice age humans who ventured into Americas came from China, DNA study suggests
Ice age groups in the ancient northern coast of China may have helped make up the first wave of people to settle the New World. Read More

Rock that crashed through New Jersey home may be 5 billion-year-old chunk of Halley’s Comet
A rock likely to be a meteorite crashed into a New Jersey home on Monday (May 8), damaging a bedroom but causing no injuries. Read More

1st draft of a human ‘pangenome’ published, adding millions of ‘building blocks’ to the human reference genome
A new version of the human reference genome incorporates genetic data from 47 individuals from around the globe. Read More

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Salisbury, UK
Salisbury Cathedral staff make final checks to the artist Cornelia Parker’s Magna Carta, a 13-metre-long embroidery installation depicting the Magna Carta Wikipedia pages, installed in the cathedral for the To Be Free exhibition. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

Bouznika, Morocco
Riders perform during the historic equestrian performance called Tbourida, dating back to the 16th century. It simulates a succession of military parades reconstructed according to ancestral conventions and rituals. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Hong Kong, China
The latest version of a robot called Sophia being tested at Hanson Robotics, a robotics and artificial intelligence company. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
Market Closes for May 11^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 1861, the New York Stock Exchange banned all trading in Confederate stocks and bonds. Members were still free to sell short any Union securities they choose.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell for the second day, dropping 0.4%, or 81.7 to 20,417.61 in Toronto.
Today, materials stocks led the market lower, as 6 of 11 sectors lost; 142 of 232 shares fell, while 87 rose.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 7.5%.
Torex Gold Resources Inc. had the largest drop, falling 17.1%.
Insights
* So far this week, the index fell 0.6%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended March 17
* The index advanced 2.9% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 4.7% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 2.9% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 14.2% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.9% in the past 5 days and was little changed in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.3 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.25t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 9.26% compared with 9.23% in the previous session and the average of 10.13% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Materials | -76.1168| -2.9| 2/47
Energy | -22.4146| -0.7| 3/36
Industrials | -19.5762| -0.7| 10/16
Utilities | -2.5346| -0.3| 6/10
Health Care | -2.4478| -3.4| 2/4
Information Technology | -1.5304| -0.1| 7/5
Communication Services | 1.5114| 0.2| 3/2
Real Estate | 2.7353| 0.6| 16/5
Consumer Discretionary | 4.6915| 0.6| 9/6
Consumer Staples | 5.0583| 0.6| 9/2
Financials | 28.9373| 0.5| 20/9
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
First Quantum Minerals | -9.8220| -7.5| 65.3| 9.3
Barrick Gold | -9.5470| -3.0| -4.3| 10.6
Agnico Eagle Mines | -9.0600| -3.3| -7.8| 8.9
Bank of Nova Scotia| 3.8910| 0.7| -52.2| 0.3
Brookfield Corp | 4.6640| 1.1| -7.8| -1.1
RBC | 8.4720| 0.7| -52.5| 2.0
US
By Peyton Forte and Emily Graffeo
(Bloomberg) — Stocks ended the day mixed while a Treasuries rally eased in afternoon trading after data signaled a slowdown in the jobs market amid renewed concerns about the health of regional lenders.
The S&P 500 slid 0.2% on Thursday after jobs and inflation data while the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.3%.
Alphabet Inc. buoyed the tech-heavy benchmark after the Google parent company showcased its artificial intelligence tools.
Walt Disney Co. shares dropped on streaming service subscriber losses while Peloton Interactive Inc.’s stock slid after a recall of 2.2 million exercise bikes.
Data showed US initial jobless claims reached the highest since October 2021 while producer prices rose 0.2% in April, trailing economists’ estimates for a 0.3% increase.
The reports signal the Federal Reserve’s policy-tightening campaign may finally be having an effect on inflation as the central bank walks a tightrope between reining in rising prices and tipping the economy into a downturn.
“Inflation has peaked and is trending lower as growth weakens,” according to Don Rissmiller, chief economist at Strategas.
The data support a Fed pause, he said, though there are other risks.
“While the US does not appear to be in recession right now, there are some signs of cracks starting to appear, and global pressures remain,” he wrote.
Haven assets traded stronger, with the dollar rising and Treasury yields falling.
The policy-sensitive two-year rate fell to 3.9%, while 30-year bonds extended a rally following a stronger-than-expected auction.
Swaps traders are pricing in more than 75 basis points of cuts in 2023 after this week’s economic reports, which included a slightly better-than-expected consumer price readout on Wednesday.
“Today’s data is a step in the right direction from the Fed’s perspective,” Kara Murphy, chief investment officer of Kestra Investment Management, said in an interview. “But these numbers are really volatile week-to-week and we’re coming off of extraordinarily strong levels. There’s a lot more that has to happen.”
Economic indicators are “moving in the right direction, but none of it is enough to say that the Fed’s job is done,” she added.
Sentiment seemed fragile with investors still worried about the US debt-ceiling and stability of the banking industry.
In the options market, hedges against volatility are seeing the most demand in five years.
PacWest Bancorp dropped 23% and was the worst performing regional lender after deposits fell 9.5% last week.
“The news headlines increased our customers’ fears of the safety of their deposits,” the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
Big banks were also weak after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said larger lenders will face billions of extra fees to replenish the agency’s insurance fund.
Jamie Dimon said “we need to finish the bank crisis,” in a Bloomberg Television interview adding regulators should do “whatever they need to do to make it better.”
JPMorgan’s chief executive officer predicted more regulations were ahead for lenders.
Elsewhere, industrial metals prices fell on the back of economic data pointing to economic weakness in China.
Copper plumbed its lowest since January.
The Bank of England raised its benchmark lending rate to the highest level since 2008 and said further increases may be needed if inflationary pressures persist. 
Key events this week:
* US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
* Fed Governor Philip Jefferson and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard participate in panel discussion on monetary policy at Stanford University, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.3%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%
* The euro fell 0.6% to $1.0917
* The British pound fell 0.9% to $1.2513
* The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 134.54 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin fell 3.7% to $26,842.63
* Ether fell 4% to $1,784.93
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 3.38%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 2.22%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 3.71%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5% to $71.47 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 0.8% to $2,020.20 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from John Viljoen, Ye Xie, and Jennifer Bissell-Linsk.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Ask advice from those who evidence good self-discipline. –Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519.

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