May 30, 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:

Peter the Great, Russian tsar, b. 1672.
May 30, 1783: First US newspaper published.
May 30, 1431: Joan of Arc, the French military leader and saint, is burned at the stake by the English for heresy.

May 30, 2011:  Germany announced plans to abandon nuclear power over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power
with renewable energy sources.  Go to article > 

Venice authorities investigate after canal turns fluorescent green.  Nope, it’s definitely not supposed to do that.

Ancient tombs and large mummification workshops unearthed in Egypt.  Next on your favorite archaeology series, “Hey, Put That Back!”

Summer is back, and so is this nostalgic beauty staple.  Ahh, nothing says summer (or “trip to the salon for a color correction”) like Sun-In!

The oldest tree in the world (and the 7 runners-up)
From Prometheus and Methuselah to trees in remote forests of China, these are the most ancient known trees on Earth. Read More

What was the longest-lasting civilization?
Ancient Egypt, China and Mesopotamia are all frequently cited as long-lasting civilizations, enduring for thousands of years. But which of these societies lasted the longest? Read More
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Didcot, UK
Yarnsy, the Didcot crocheter, has created another colourful post-box topper. On display by the railway station and called Three Fabulous ladies, it celebrates women with a selection of quotes attached by Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.  Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock

New York, US
Sunset, as seen from 42nd street.  Photograph: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu/Getty Images

São Paulo, Brazil
A member of the Guarani Mbya Indigenous group protests against the so-called legal thesis of Marco Temporal, which demarcates Indigenous land rights.  Photograph: Amanda Perobelli/Reuters
Market Closes for May 30^th, 2023

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
📈 On this day in 2000, the headline of The Wall Street Journal’s lead article on the stock market declared: “Too Little Trading Deepens Nasdaq’s Misery: ‘Overhang’ of Stock Waiting to Be Sold Limits Any Rally.” The Nasdaq responded by having its best day yet on record, rallying 7.94% to end the day at 3459.48.
Canada
By Bloomberg Automation
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 1.1% at 19,739.70 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since falling 1.5% on May 16 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.2%.
Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 2.1%.
Canopy Growth Corp. had the largest drop, falling 5.7%.
Today, 184 of 232 shares fell, while 43 rose; all sectors were lower, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 4.3%
* The index declined 5.6% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index was little changed in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6.2% below its 52-week high on June 2, 2022 and 10.4% above its low on Oct. 13, 2022
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2% in the past 5 days and fell 4.3% in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.2 on a trailing basis and 13.5 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.3% on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.19t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 11.04% compared with 10.66% in the previous session and the average of 9.53% over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | -66.3431| -1.1| 5/24
Energy | -58.9464| -1.8| 3/36
Materials | -37.9412| -1.6| 9/41
Information Technology | -22.1302| -1.4| 4/8
Consumer Staples | -11.5101| -1.3| 0/11
Industrials | -10.7848| -0.4| 5/20
Consumer Discretionary | -7.8171| -1.1| 2/13
Utilities | -5.0809| -0.6| 8/8
Real Estate | -3.8919| -0.8| 3/16
Communication Services | -2.8503| -0.3| 3/2
Health Care | -0.9414| -1.3| 1/5
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
TD Bank | -20.7500| -2.1| -10.1| -11.6
Shopify | -19.4300| -2.9| -16.6| 68.3
Canadian Natural Resources | -13.0000| -2.2| 65.7| -1.0
Descartes Systems | 1.0310| 1.7| 2.1| 12.0
Thomson Reuters | 1.1100| 0.6| -10.9| 10.0
WSP Global | 1.1500| 0.8| -21.6| 10.1
US
By Rita Nazareth
(Bloomberg) — Stocks treaded water after a rally driven by the artificial-intelligence hype drove the market to its highest since August.
Treasury yields fell on hopes the US Congress will pass a debt deal to head off a default.
The S&P 500 closed little changed, while remaining slightly above 4,200.
Energy companies weighed on the index as oil sank below $70 a barrel.
The Nasdaq 100 extended this year’s surge to 31%, with Nvidia Corp. hovering near $1 trillion in value after announcing several AI-related products.
A gauge of mega-caps like Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. climbed over 1.5%.
“Yes, AI does have great potential and it does appear to be the ‘next big thing’,” wrote Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. “But I don’t see how that promise can offset the reality of higher interest rates and more pressure on the economy, at least not for a sustainable period.”
US bond yields slumped from the highest levels since March as investors evaluated the possible economic consequences of the holiday weekend accord to temporarily suspend the federal debt ceiling, and amid an expected wave of month-end-related buying.
Treasury rates on 3- to 10-year maturities led the move.
The two-year yield, more sensitive than longer maturities to the outlook for Federal Reserve policy, traded near 4.5%.
Stocks and bonds are sending opposite signals about whether US inflation will abate on its own, according to billionaire Cliff Asness, who called the divergence his “biggest concern.”
Unlike stocks, the bond market is telegraphing that the Federal Reserve will make aggressive interest-rate cuts over the next year or two, the co-founder of AQR Capital Management, said on an episode of “Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein.”
“If inflation stays sticky or it comes down because we enter a nontrivial recession —  it’s equities that I think are a scary place,” Asness said.
Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said he is looking for signs that demand is cooling to be convinced that US inflation will ease.
Traders also kept an eye on the latest economic reports, with US consumer confidence dropping to a six-month low as views about the labor market and the outlook for business conditions slipped ahead of a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
To Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, lower consumer confidence can be a bullish contrarian indicator.
“With over $5 trillion in cash on the sidelines, strong stock market momentum and debt ceiling drama closer to resolving, we think there is a good reason for stocks to perform well this year,” Bolvin said. “However, it may not be without volatility. The next market moving catalyst is this week’s jobs reports, which will influence the Fed.”
Key events this week:
* China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Wednesday.
* US job openings, Wednesday.
* Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, Wednesday.
* Fed’s Patrick Harker, Susan Collins and Michelle Bowman speak at events, Wednesday.
* China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday.
* Eurozone HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday.
* US construction spending, initial jobless claims, ISM Manufacturing, Thursday.
* ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks at conference, Thursday.
* Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks at webinar, Thursday.
* US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday.

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.2%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0730
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2407
* The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 139.77 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
* Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $27,852.97
* Ether rose 0.7% to $1,907.09
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 12 basis points to 3.68%
* Germany’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 2.34%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined nine basis points to 4.25%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4% to $69.77 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,978.20 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Vildana Hajric, Carly Wanna, Isabelle Lee and John McCorry.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. –Matsuo Chuemon Munefusa, 1644-1694.

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