November 16, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
The solar system is putting on a show this week with all seven planets visible in the sky — so grab your telescope and marvel at this rare  wonder.

Archaeologists in Egypt found more than 100 painted wooden coffins, some containing mummies, dating back 2,500 years.

November 16, 1973 – Skylab 4, with three astronauts on board, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on an 84-day mission.  Go to article »

Jump-start your immunity.  With coronavirus and flu season, winter will be brutal for our bodies. These foods can help fight off infectious diseases. –CNN.

Gary and I watched the live SpaceX launch yesterday afternoon.  It was amazing! 
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches four astronauts into orbit in NASA mission. Sunday’s blast-off of the Crew Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral, Fla., was the start of a roughly 27-hour trip to link up with the space station, The Wall Street Journal’s Andy Pasztor reports. Last week NASA designated SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule as safe to transport astronauts for routine crew rotation and other operational flights serving the international laboratory.-WSJ.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Mr. Zhou is fishing using trained ducks in traditional way on Hongze Lake Wetland close to Suqian town, China
CREDIT: ALEX PLAVEVSKI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Wind surfers in the Irish Sea near Lytham St Annes in Lancashire enjoying the stormy weather
CREDIT: MARK MCNEILL/BAV MEDIA

Issa Kassissieh, wearing a Santa Claus costume, sits next to a Christmas tree on a salt formation in the Dead Sea, in an event organised by Israel’s tourism ministry, as Israel gears up for the holiday season, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, near Ein Bokeq, Israel
CREDIT: REUTERS/AMOR COHEN
Market Closes for November 16^th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1999, Jay Walker, the founder of Priceline.com, bought 2.1 million shares of Priceline’s stock from Delta Air Lines (an early backer of the company) for $59.93 per share. Delta locked in a gain of more than $120 million on shares for which it paid less than $2 million. A year later, Mr. Walker sold those same shares for $8 million—losing $117 million by buying his own stock at the top and selling it at the bottom
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rose Monday after Moderna Inc.’s vaccine was shown to be 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed at the day’s high, advancing 1.3% to the highest since February 26. Energy, financials and real estate led the way, while tech and consumer staples were among laggards. Oil gained the most in a week amid signals a Covid-19 vaccine is highly effective.
On the deal front, Endeavour Mining Corp., the acquisitive gold producer backed by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, agreed to buy Teranga Gold Corp. in the latest deal to reshape the sector.
Canadian home sales dropped for the first time since April, as the real estate rush of recent months eased.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $9.50 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 0.02% to $1,888.85 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.3% to C$1.3093 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 1.1 basis points to 0.739%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the second day, climbing 1.3 percent, or 214.17 to 16,889.81 in Toronto.
The move was the biggest since rising 1.9 percent on Nov. 5. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 6.6 percent. Enerplus Corp. had the largest increase, rising 8.8 percent.
Today, 150 of 222 shares rose, while 71 fell; 7 of 11 sectors were higher, led by financials stocks.
Insights
* This year, the index fell 1 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 0.8 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 16 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 51.2 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 2.5 percent in the past 5 days and rose 2.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.3 on a trailing basis and 23 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.1 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.55t
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 15.92 percent compared with 15.93 percent in the previous session and the average of 14.81 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 121.3185| 2.4| 24/2
Energy | 59.3586| 3.3| 20/3
Industrials | 14.0972| 0.7| 21/7
Real Estate | 11.2368| 2.1| 22/4
Consumer Discretionary | 11.1122| 1.8| 11/2
Communication Services | 7.6802| 0.9| 7/0
Health Care | 1.6984| 0.9| 6/4
Consumer Staples | -1.5407| -0.2| 5/6
Information Technology | -1.5734| -0.1| 4/6
Utilities | -3.0174| -0.3| 6/10
Materials | -6.2118| -0.3| 24/27
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks gained after positive news on a Covid-19 vaccine, sending shares tied to an economic reopening higher while stay-at-home tech companies lagged behind. Oil climbed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly touched an intraday record after Moderna Inc.’s vaccine was shown to be 94.5% effective in a preliminary analysis of a large late-stage clinical trial. Shares of the drugmaker surged as much as 15%.
Companies poised to benefit from a reopening, such as cruise lines and air carriers, outperformed. Lockdown favorite Zoom Video Communications Inc. slumped along with some of the biggest tech names, weighing on the Nasdaq 100 and helping drag other indexes from their highs of the day.
The vaccine news adds yet another driver to a global stocks rotation into value and cyclical sectors that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, and out of more defensive industries like technology. U.S. equity futures were up earlier after advisers to President-elect Joe Biden said they opposed a nationwide shutdown despite surging virus cases.
“Today’s vaccine news should make investors more tolerant of the surging virus cases, permitting them to look through to the strong dynamics that seem to be taking shape for 2021,” said Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors. “Easy monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, recovering economic growth — there are many reasons for investors to be optimistic as we move closer to the end of this awful year.”
Still, concerns about a sustainable economic recovery persist amid a flare-up in virus cases around the world. The pandemic continues to escalate in Europe and the U.S. American coronavirus cases have topped 11 million. Germany must live with “considerable restrictions” against the spread of Covid-19 for at least the next four to five months, its economy minister said.
Treasury yields held steady and the dollar slipped. Crude pushed higher as the vaccine news boosted the outlook for demand. China’s oil processing rebounded in October to match a record, as consumption in Asia continues to vastly outpace that of regions still afflicted with the virus.
Elsewhere, European equities rose, following Asian shares higher after a slew of countries Sunday signed the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement, encompassing nearly a third of the globe’s population and gross domestic product. Australia’s stock exchange was hit by a software issue that forced it to close for most of Monday’s session.
In the U.S., the stock rotation continued following the best week for S&P value stocks versus S&P growth shares since 2008. The Russell 2000 Index of small-caps rallied as much as 2.2% to a record, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose half as much. “It’s the same trend we’ve been seeing over the past several weeks which is a move toward value, toward companies that will rebound when Covid goes away,” said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management. “We have facts on the ground which can truly change the environment in a three- to six-month period.”
Here are some events to watch out for this week:
* Brexit talks look set to continue as the U.K. and EU approach the latest deadline.
* Bloomberg New Economy Forum virtually convenes global leaders to discuss trade, growing political populism, climate change, and the pandemic. Through Nov. 19.
* OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meets Tuesday.
* U.S. retail sales due Tuesday.
* Bank Indonesia rate decision Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6% as of 1:50 p.m. New York time; the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index surged 1.4%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 1.2%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.2%.
* The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1841.
* The British pound was little changed at $1.3187.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 104.56 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 0.90%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.55%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.35%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.6% to $41.19 a barrel.
* Gold fell 0.1% to $1,887.45 an ounce.
–With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Andreea Papuc, Sam Potter, Yakob Peterseil, Katherine Greifeld and Cecile Gutscher.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

The most damaging phrase in the language is “We’ve always done it this way.”
                                                                    -Grace Hopper, 1902-1992

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