September 28, 2020 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents: Yom Kippur today.  Shana tovah.

Cabrillo Day – Discovery of California, 1542.

Al Capp, b. 1909
Brigitte Bardot, b. 1934
Marcello Mastroianni, b. 1924
Gwyneth Paltrow, b. 1973

Moschino sends puppets down the runway for Milan Fashion Week.  If only we could send puppets in to do our Zoom meetings, too. –CNN

On Sept. 28, 1924, two United States Army planes landed in Seattle, Washington, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days. Go to article »

Scientists find three more underground lakes on Mars. –Bloomberg.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Fresh snow is visible on the slopes of the Moleson mountain near the still green pastures, on Saturday, 26 September 2020, at Moleson in Gruyere, Switzerland. 
CREDIT: LAURENT GILLIERON/KEYSTONE

Sunsetting by the lighthouse in Anglesea with Ireland seen in the distance on a clear night.
CREDIT: GREG BUTLER/BAV MEDIA

A common green damselfly. Incredible close-up photos show insects covered in perfectly formed dew drops. Messingham Sand Quarry in North Lincolnshire.
CREDIT: CALVIN LEE/SOLENT NEWS & PHOTO AGENCY

Market Closes for September 28th, 2020 

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
On this day in 1987, the cover of Fortune magazine asked, “ARE STOCKS TOO HIGH?” The world’s leading hedge-fund manager, George Soros, told Fortune that “while the market is already unstable and overvalued, it has not yet reached the point of collapse. Indeed, it could yet move much higher.” Just 14 trading days later, the stock market dropped by 23%.
Canada
By Aoyon Ashraf
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities rallied with global markets Monday, led by consumer discretionary and financial stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 1.1%. All 11 sectors were positive, with Methanex Corp. the best-performing stock and Lundin Mining Corp. the worst. Amazon.com Inc. expects to nearly triple its workforce in Vancouver, where software engineers are cheap, smart and plentiful. The online retail giant plans to occupy a bunker-like former Canada Post mailing center that’s being redeveloped into a new 1.1 million square-foot office to house 8,000 jobs by 2023, Jesse Dougherty, a vice president and Vancouver site lead at Amazon, said by phone.
Commodities
* Western Canada Select crude oil traded at a $10.60 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold rose 1.1% to $1,882 an ounce
FX/Bonds
* The Canadian dollar strengthened slightly to C$1.3378 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year government bond yield rose 1 basis point to 0.551%

By Bloomberg Automation:
(Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite rose for the third day, climbing 1.1 percent, or 177.46 to 16,242.81 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since rising 1.8 percent on Sept. 9. Today, financials stocks led the market higher, as all sectors gained; 189 of 223 shares rose, while 32 fell. Toronto-Dominion Bank contributed the most to the index gain, increasing 1.7 percent. Methanex Corp. had the largest increase, rising 6.9 percent.
Insights
* This month, the index fell 1.6 percent
* This quarter, the index rose 4.7 percent
* This year, the index fell 4.8 percent, heading for the worst year since 2018
* The index declined 2.7 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 13 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 9.6 percent below its 52-week high on Feb. 20, 2020 and 45.4 percent above its low on March 23, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 1.6 percent in the past 5 days and fell 2.8 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.9 on a trailing basis and 23.3 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 3.2 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$2.46t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 15.09 percent compared with 14.93 percent in the previous session and the average of 12.48 percent over the past month
================================================================
|Index Points | | Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
Financials | 87.1602| 1.9| 24/2
Energy | 20.9455| 1.2| 22/1
Industrials | 16.6625| 0.8| 25/3
Utilities | 11.5708| 1.4| 15/1
Consumer Discretionary | 11.4087| 2.0| 11/2
Communication Services | 9.8548| 1.2| 7/0
Materials | 9.1349| 0.4| 41/10
Real Estate | 6.9758| 1.4| 23/3
Consumer Staples | 2.8704| 0.4| 10/1
Information Technology | 0.8628| 0.1| 6/4
Health Care | 0.0160| 0.0| 5/5
US
By Vildana Hajric and Claire Ballentine
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks jumped after four weeks of declines and European shares added the most in three months amid broad gains for equities. The dollar weakened. Banks led the S&P 500 Index to its biggest gain in two weeks as investors found buying opportunities after the gauge fell to its lowest since July last week. More than 10 stocks were higher on the benchmark for every one that fell. HSBC Holdings Plc added almost 9% after its biggest shareholder raised its stake, while an index of lenders rose the most a month. Shares also advanced in Asia. Signs that U.S. politicians are moving toward new fiscal stimulus has been a boon to stocks in recent days, while the Federal Reserve continues to provide liquidity. Stronger economic reports from China also lifted investor sentiment, with data over the weekend showing profits at Chinese industrial companies grew for a fourth consecutive month in August.
“The Fed is making it almost impossible for you to get too bearish,” said John Porter, head of equities at Mellon Investments. “The market is getting more comfortable with the realization that Covid is going to be with us for a while now.” The advance in global stocks was broad, instead of tech- focused, a sign that optimism about global growth and the end of pandemic lockdowns is returning. Still, equities remain on course for the first month of losses since March after investors sold overheated stocks and fears about a resurgence in the virus weighed on airlines and retailers.
“September certainly continued to challenge the intestinal fortitude of the bulls, but charting the S&P 500 from March shows the bull market remains very much intact,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial Corp. In emerging markets, the Turkish lira and Russian ruble weakened as fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan curbed appetite for the currencies of their bigger neighbors.
Here are some key events coming up:
* On Tuesday, the first U.S. presidential debate will take place between President Donald Trump and Democratic opponent Joe Biden.
* China purchasing manager indexes are due Wednesday, and expected to show September manufacturing improved slightly while non-manufacturing moderated from August’s level.
* The EIA crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.
* The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 Index gained 1.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
* The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 2.2%.
* The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.3%.
* The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1.1%.
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
* The euro gained 0.3% to $1.1667.
* The British pound jumped 0.7% to $1.2834.
* The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 105.49 per dollar.
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than 1 basis point to 0.66%.
* Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to -0.53%.
* Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.20%.
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $40.59 a barrel.
* Gold strengthened 1% to $1,880.22 an ounce.
–With assistance from Namitha Jagadeesh, Adam Haigh, Andreea Papuc and Anchalee Worrachate.

Have a great night.

Be magnificent!
As ever,

Carolann

A great book begins with an idea; a great life, with a determination.
                                        -Louis Dearborn L’Amour, 1908-1988

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