October 4, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit. Go to article »

St. Francis of Assisi, b. 1181

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine:
The 2021 award goes to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for identifying the receptors that allow humans to perceive temperature and touch.

William Shatner is going to space. 

Mick Jagger went to a Charlotte bar and nobody noticed.

Unleashing the atom made humans think of the deep future.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A beautiful sunrise and horses on a fresh autumnal morning on Bamburgh beach in Northumberland this morning
CREDIT: SOMIN WOODLEY / SWNS

Cooks crafting their famed dim sum specialities in Shanghai’s Yu Garden district. The image, taken by Ian Douglas Scott, was the runner-up in the food and travel category at the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2021
CREDIT: IAN DOUGLAS SCOTT?NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

A rainbow over St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay
CREDIT: OWEN HUMPHREYS/PA WIRE

Market Closes for October 4^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1903, John Vincent Atanasoff was born just west of Hamilton, N.Y., to Ivan Atanasoff, a Bulgarian-born electrical engineer, and math teacher Iva Purdy. From 1939 through 1941, working at Iowa State with a $650 research grant, he developed the world’s first electronic digital computer.
Canada
By Kristine Owram
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks closed lower Monday but outperformed their U.S. peers, as a drop in health care and technology shares was offset by strength in commodities. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.5 percent to 20,052.25 in Toronto. The index dropped to the lowest closing level since July 20 after the previous session’s increase of 0.4 percent. Today, information technology stocks led the market lower, as 9 of 11 sectors lost; 141 of 234 shares fell, while 88 rose. Energy and materials were the only sectors that gained. Shopify Inc. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.1 percent. Lightspeed Commerce Inc. had the largest drop, falling 8.5 percent.
Insights
* This year, the index rose 15 percent, heading for the best year since 2019
* The index advanced 24 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 29 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 4 percent below its 52-week high on Sept. 7, 2021 and 30.1 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is down 2 percent in the past 5 days and fell 3.7 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1 on a trailing basis and 15.9 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.6 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.18t
* 30-day price volatility fell to 9.24 percent compared with 9.41 percent in the previous session and the average of 7.64 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Information Technology | -67.2381| -2.9| 0/15
* Industrials | -30.0327| -1.3| 7/23
* Financials | -27.0233| -0.4| 8/20
* Health Care | -6.0085| -2.9| 0/9
* Real Estate | -3.9062| -0.6| 3/20
* Consumer Discretionary | -3.2565| -0.4| 5/8
* Consumer Staples | -2.9877| -0.4| 5/8
* Communication Services | -2.4849| -0.3| 3/3
* Utilities | -0.1743| 0.0| 9/7
* Materials | 15.1198| 0.7| 32/21
* Energy | 29.3939| 1.1| 16/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS| YTD
|Index Points | | 20D AVG | Change
Top Contributors | Move | % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Shopify | -40.9900| -3.1| -10.5| 15.1
* Brookfield Asset | | | |
* Management | -13.4600| -1.9| -30.8| 29.6
* Lightspeed Commerce| | | |
* Inc | -9.1830| -8.5| 34.8| 26.5
* Enbridge | 4.2180| 0.6| -23.3| 24.9
* Sun Life Financial | 6.4630| 2.4| 13.6| 17.8
* Canadian Natural | | | |
* Resources | 12.0200| 3.1| -37.8| 56.7

US
By Vildana Hajric and Peyton Forte
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined Monday as a selloff in technology stocks resumed on the threat of persistently high  inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% — dipping below its 100-day moving average — while the Nasdaq 100 shed 2.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.9%. The losses were led by high-growth technology companies – including Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. — while vaccine makers also fell on Merck & Co.’s announcement about an effective Covid-19 drug. Energy stocks, meanwhile, rose along with oil prices. “There’s a wall of worry that markets are trying to climb at the moment,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid in a note. “We have an energy crisis, supply chain issues, higher inflation, signs of weaker growth, and lots of talk about stagflation.” Global markets have taken a risk-off turn amid a growing list of worries, just as investors have been bracing for the Federal Reserve to begin tapering stimulus as early as next month. Higher inflation and Treasury yields make the premium investors pay for high-growth stocks less attractive. The risk to earnings may also be higher for some tech companies. “Technology stocks are most likely getting hit the hardest because higher interest rates means higher discount rates for future earnings,” said Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network. “I would expect this dynamic to continue as long as inflation expectations remain at the higher end.” Fears of a spreading energy crisis also added to concerns about inflation Monday with European power and gas prices surging before the onset of winter. The power contract for November in Germany hit a record while natural-gas futures extended a rally.
Meanwhile, crude oil in New York surged to the highest since 2014 as OPEC+ agreed to an output hike for November. “The post-pandemic recovery appears to be stumbling,” said Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at City Index. “Supply shortages and a worsening energy crunch mean prices are rising and elevated inflation may not be as transitory as the Fed initially thought.” President Joe Biden warned Monday that the U.S. government was also at risk of breaking its legal debt limit, describing the risk as a “meteor” headed for the economy. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose to 1.48%, paring back earlier gains. The dollar slid for a third day. And equities in Europe, Japan and Hong Kong fell. Markets in mainland Chinese are closed through Thursday for the Golden Week holidays. 

Here are some events to watch this week:
* Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision Tuesday
* Rate decision in New Zealand on Wednesday
* Reserve Bank of India monetary policy decision on Friday
* The U.S. Labor Department releases unemployment and job creation data Friday
* Annual Nobel announcements start on Monday, with the Peace Prize being awarded on Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.3% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%
* The MSCI World index fell 1%
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1621
* The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3613
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 110.93 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.48%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.21%
* Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.01%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.2% to $77.54 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,769.50 an ounce
–With assistance from Joanna Ossinger and Srinivasan Sivabalan.
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Practice is the best of all instructors. -Publilius Syrus, 85 BC-43 BC.

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
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www.carolannsteinhoff.com