Dear Friends,
Tangents: Happy Friday.
May 29, 1953:Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first confirmed climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
May 29, 1999: Space shuttle Discovery completed the first docking with the International Space Station. Go to article.
May 29, 1453: Constantinople falls to the Turks.
G.K. Chesterton, writer, b.1874.
Bob Hope, comedian, b. 1903.
John F. Kennedy, 35th President, b.1917.
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. –Jack London.
In praise of Australia’s most unpopular city
Australians think this place is boring. Here’s why you should visit anyway.
Meet the man creating wearable art for the world’s best athletes
Jordan Dawson has spent years transforming cleats into personalized art. Soon, his creations will appear on soccer’s biggest stage: the World Cup.
A graduation laugh
At Harvard University’s graduation ceremony, comedian Conan O’Brien delivered a commencement speech packed with jokes — including one about suing his alma mater.
| A single day of attacks on Iranian oil refineries released as much sulfur dioxide as a volcanic eruption |
Fires caused by Israeli airstrikes on Iranian refineries and storage facilities on March 7 emitted a total of around 33,000 tons (29,800 metric tons) of sulfur dioxide by March 8. Read more.
| Controversial ‘JuMBO’ planets discovered by James Webb telescope may not be an illusion after all |
Two pairs of "rogue" Jupiter-size, planet-like objects have been found in a large star-forming region in the Milky Way, a new study claims. The findings suggest the weird objects actually do exist, and are not an illusion. Read more.
| Scientists found the optimal robot body, and it has 20 legs — watch it scale walls and move through trees |
A sea-urchin-like robot could offer a new blueprint for making more versatile robots, research suggests. Read more.
| Chemists create ‘water armor’ that prevents stains and germs from sticking to clothing |
Material scientists in China have created a new kind of coating that keeps clothes clean without the need for wasteful detergents. It could reduce the water and electricity costs of doing laundry by 80%.Read more.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Zagreb, Croatia
Antonia Gasperov performs on a wire 30 metres above the Manduševac fountain, in Ban Jelačić Square, at the opening of the 30th Cest is dBest street festival
Photograph: Neja Markičević/CroPix/Sipa/Shutterstock
Jeju Island, South Korea
A visitor tours Manjanggul lava tube, a Unesco world heritage site, before the tunnel’s reopening after more than two years of maintenance work
Photograph: Yonhap/EPA
Edinburgh, UK
The waxing moon rises near the summit of Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park
Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA
Market Closes for May 29th, 2026
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| Dow Jones |
51032.46 | +393.49 |
| +0.72% | ||
| S&P 500 | 7580.06 | +16.43 |
| +0.22% | ||
| NASDAQ | 26972.62 | +55.15 |
| +0.20% | ||
| TSX | 34769.14 | +251.44
+0.73% |
International Markets
| Market Index |
Close | Change |
| NIKKEI | 66329.50 | +1636.38 |
| +2.53% | ||
| HANG SENG |
25182.39 | +176.23 |
| +0.70% | ||
| SEN SEX | 74775.74 | -1092.06 |
| -1.44% | ||
| FTSE 100* | 10409.28 | -16.68 |
| -0.16% |
Bonds
| Bonds | % Yield | Previous % Yield |
| CND. 10 Year Bond |
3.413 | 3.436 |
| CND. 30 Year Bond |
3.793 | 3.796 |
| U.S. 10 Year Bond |
4.4355 | 4.4473 |
| U.S. 30 Year Bond |
4.9716 | 4.9726 |
| BOC Close | Today | Previous |
| Canadian $ | 0.7248 | 0.7255 |
| US $ |
1.3796 | 1.3783 |
| Euro Rate 1 Euro= |
Inverse | |
| Canadian $ | 0.6216 | 1.6088 |
| US $ |
0.8575 | 1.1661 |
Commodities
| Gold | Close | Previous |
| London Gold Fix |
4419.45 | 4426.00 |
| Oil | ||
| WTI Crude Future | 87.36 | 88.90 |
Market Commentary:
| On this day in 1946, with the stock market still euphoric over peace, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its immediate post-World War II high of 212.50, a level it wouldn’t pass again until April 12, 1950. |
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 0.7%, or 240.87 to 34,758.57 in Toronto.
Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 3.8%.
Celestica Inc. had the largest increase, rising 10.2%.
Today, 124 of 220 shares rose, while 92 fell; 6 of 11 sectors were higher, led by materials stocks..
Insights
* This month, the index rose 2.4%
* So far this week, the index rose 0.9%
* The index advanced 33% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 28% in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3% below its 52-week high on May 25, 2026 and 33.6% above its low on May 30, 2025
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.4 on a trailing basis and 16.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.2% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$5.44t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 12.86% compared with 12.93% in the previous session and the average of 13.27% over the past month
Index Points
Materials | 162.4477| 2.6| 52/7
Information Technology | 110.8921| 4.5| 9/0
Financials | 50.6277| 0.4| 14/10
Communication Services | 4.1064| 0.6| 4/1
Consumer Staples | 2.2218| 0.2| 6/4
Health Care | 0.0013| 0.0| 1/3
Consumer Discretionary | -0.7969| -0.1| 3/5
Real Estate | -4.2040| -0.9| 7/12
Industrials | -6.6442| -0.2| 14/15
Utilities | -12.2495| -1.0| 6/8
Energy | -54.9567| -0.9| 8/27
Shopify | 51.5200| 3.8| 132.6| -25.6
Celestica | 39.6100| 10.2| 214.8| 31.3
RBC | 38.1700| 1.5| 45.1| 13.0
Canadian Pacific |Kansas | -11.0700| -1.4| 104.9| 21.8
Brookfield Corp | -11.4200| -1.2| 290.6| -0.3
Enbridge | -14.3600| -1.2| 36.5| 15.2
MT Newswires:
The Toronto Stock Exchange was up for a second-straight session Friday, even with commodity prices and sectors mixed, as today’s Canadian GDP data was seen "further extending the hike runway" while talk of Canada being in a recession was played down.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 240.87, points or 0.7%, to 34,758.57, adding to the 105 points gained Thursday, on some relief that interest rates are unlikely to be lifted soon, which would increase borrowing costs for many companies.
This leaves the index within 100 points of Monday’s record close of 34,830.
Among sectors, Energy was down 1.15%, the only one to fall by more than 1%, with oil prices weaker.
Info Tech gained near 4.7% and the Battery Metals Index was up by 3.7%.
Base Metals was up 0.4%, helped by a higher gold price, as Rosenberg Research published ‘Gold Miners: A Tactical Opening After the Pullback?’ in which it said gold’s pullback has "de-rated the miners, creating a high-beta tactical opportunity if macro headwinds start to fade."
Among key takeaways, Rosenberg Senior Markets Strategist Mehmet Beceren said gold’s pullback looks more like a short-term macro unwinding as the structural story remains intact.
Higher oil prices, a firmer U.S. dollar, and rising bond yields have pressured bullion, but central bank demand, fiscal risk, and geopolitical fragmentation remain intact, he noted.
Beceren said gold miners may now offer a tactical high-beta entry point.
The stocks have de-rated alongside spot gold, yet earnings power remains strong with bullion still above $4,000 per ounce; any easing in the U.S. dollar, yields, and energy-cost pressures could revive margins and multiples, he added.
On the economics front, earlier Friday Canadian GDP came in sharply below expectations for the first quarter, edging down 0.1% on an annualized rate to mark a second consecutive quarterly decline following a revised 1% ) drop in Q4, down from the originally reported drop of 0.6%.
Well below, as RBC Assistant Chief Economist Nathan Janzen noted, preliminary estimates of monthly output through March released a month ago that were pointing to growth closer to a 2% rate in Q1.
Although the Q1 GDP decline is very small, two consecutive quarters of GDP decline are "historically unusual", Janzen said.
But underlying details, for a second consecutive quarter, look firmer than what would be typically expected at, say, the beginning of a recession, he added.
The data will still likely put more focus on the May labor market data in the week ahead, Janzen said, noting employment numbers have also softened in recent months, and the unemployment rate increased into April.
"But we continue to think underlying details in both the labor market and GDP data are better than headline growth number suggest," he added.
Janzen said Canada’s economic outlook remains contingent on U.S. international trade policy remaining broadly stable and the oil price shock continues to cut into household purchasing power.
But he looks for the unemployment rate to drift gradually lower this year and for per-capita GDP growth to continue to broadly improve.
Separately, Simon Deeley and Jason Daw at RBC Dominion Securities in a ‘Canada Rates Strategy’ note said Bank of Canada hike pricing is being reduced and pushed further out.
This is the logical move following weaker recent results from the three key macro metrics: labor market, inflation and output, they added.
Today’s softer GDP result and "ever so slightly resulting in a technical recession", is at odds with where monthly GDP figures were indicating prior to the data, the duo noted.
"We saw some discrepancy between lackluster labour market performance in Q1 (unemployment rate remaining sticky high, hours worked flat) and the GDP tracking, but today’s GDP result reduces that considerably," they said.
According to Deeley and Daw, they had discussed the extending runway for hikes following the softer April inflation data and today’s data reinforces that view.
The BoC flagged risk scenarios to both cuts and hikes at the April meeting, though more convincing on the hike side, but their overarching message was one of comfort with where policy was positioned.
Small but meaningful slack in the labor and product markets combine with underlying inflation roughly on the 2% target to provide little impetus for the BoC to move off their current setting at the bottom-end of the 2.25-3.25% neutral range, they added.
National Bank Financial economists Taylor Schleich, Matthieu Arseneau and Alexandra Ducharme asked if the description of the Canadian economy in a ‘technical recession’ accurate, and should we be concerned? "Not really," they said.
First, the trio noted, the 0.1% annualized contraction is so small that there is a risk that, after revision, it will cross back over the growth threshold.
Secondly, they noted, while today’s data is "undoubtedly disappointing", there is a key variable that must be taken into account when analyzing Canadian GDP data: the population.
Due to the ongoing slowdown in immigration decided by Ottawa, the country’s population was smaller in the first quarter of 2026 than in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This means that real GDP per capita growth was largely positive (+0.9%) in the last quarter and has been on an upward trend for two years.
Of commodities, gold traded higher for a second day midafternoon Friday as the dollar weakened on expectations the U.S. war on Iran is nearing an end, pushing oil prices lower and easing inflation worries that have pushed up the currency.
Gold for July delivery was up US$60.70 to US$4,593.10 per ounce.
But West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at a six-week low amid reports the U.S. and Iran will extend their tenuous ceasefire while a Trump Administration official said the two sides are nearing a deal to end the war.
WTI crude oil for July delivery closed down US$1.54 to settle at US$87.36 per barrel, the lowest since April 17, while July Brent oil was down US$1.74 to US$91.97.
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Hopes that a ceasefire deal could pave the way for an end to the Iran conflict drove stocks to a historic streak of weekly gains, with the market also buoyed by the artificial-intelligence trade.
A nearly 20% rally in the S&P 500 from March lows sent the index to its ninth straight weekly advance, the longest winning run since 2023.
Such occurrence has only been matched a few times in the past four decades.
Dell Technologies Inc. jumped 33% on a solid outlook. Brent oil settled around $92 a barrel.
Treasuries saw their best week since the war began.
Wall Street has been whipsawed by multiple headlines regarding prospects for a truce renewal but hopes that some form of accord between Washington and Tehran would be reached continued to fuel risk appetite.
While it’s unclear when exactly a memorandum of understanding would be finalized, an administration official told the New York Post it was the “closest” the two sides have been.
Funds held by Qatar are among the final sticking points in a tentative peace deal, the report said.
President Donald Trump said in a social-media post he was ready to make a “final determination” on a preliminary agreement to extend the ceasefire.
Hours later, he left the Situation Room meeting without any decision being made, the New York Times reported.
“We suppose there is still the risk that this deal will fall through. However, it does look like there will be at least an extension of the ceasefire,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak.
“The only question now is whether the stock market has already priced in this outcome.”
While easing geopolitical tensions and an ongoing ceasefire framework have provided a major catalyst for equity gains, strong corporate earnings have also played a critical role in sustaining momentum, according to Adam Turnquist at LPL Financial.
“The enthusiasm for stocks is warranted,” said Emily Bowersock Hill at Bowersock Capital Partners.
“Investors expect the AI infrastructure boom to continue to mask the negative impact of geopolitical disruption. Stock markets care about company profits, as long as earnings grow, stock prices can continue to rise.”
The solid run in equities underscores the degree to which investors are looking for past geopolitical uncertainties and the threat of higher bond yields.
Action in Treasuries was muted on Friday, but the market saw its best weekly performance since Feb. 27, the day before the war started.
The advance represented a turnaround from earlier this month, when bonds tumbled on concern that elevated energy costs would fuel inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise rates.
“The recent pullback in oil prices is helping to ease some of those worries,” said Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones.
“However, with inflation moving further away from the Fed’s 2% target and labor-market trends stabilizing or even improving, policymakers may begin to shift away from their easing bias at the June meeting.”
Corporate Highlights:
* Universal Music Group NV rejected an unsolicited offer from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, saying it’s not in the best interest of its shareholders or artists, who include Taylor Swift and Drake.
* SpaceX has won a contract for more than $4 billion to build satellites to track foreign aircraft and missiles as part of President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome defensive shield.
* OpenAI has spoken with banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. about working on its upcoming initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Apollo Global Management Inc. and Blackstone Inc. are working to bring additional investors into a roughly $36 billion debt financing deal to help Anthropic PBC build out its AI infrastructure.
* Jamie Dimon took aim at Coinbase Global Inc. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong on television, calling him “full of sh- t” and vowing to fight back against digital-asset legislation making its way through Congress.
** The banks “will not accept” the current version of the Clarity Act, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO told Fox Business. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said in a statement it’s time for the Senate to bring the bill to the floor.
What Bloomberg strategists say…
“Given that individual investors often continue piling in even late in rallies, when performance-chasing becomes the dominant force, stocks have further upside.”
—Alyce Andres, Macro Strategist, Markets Live.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7%
* The MSCI World Index rose 0.4%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1664
* The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3466
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.25 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin was little changed at $73,499.4
* Ether rose 0.2% to $2,016.04
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.43%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.94%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.81%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $87.88 a barrel
* Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,546.03 an ounce
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Be magnificent!
As ever,
Carolann
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. – Voltaire, 1694-1778.
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