September 30, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
On Sept. 30, 1938, British, French, German and Italian leaders agreed at a meeting in Munich that Nazi Germany would be allowed to annex Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. Go to article »

1452-Gutenberg Bible published.
1955- James Dean killed in auto collision.

Elie Wiesel, activist, b. 1928.
Truman Capote, writer, b. 1924.

Dollar Tree will sell more stuff for more than $1.  You could say Dollar Tree is … branching out

‘Squid Game’ is the latest Netflix obsession.  It’s somehow even more ominous than it sounds.

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts, lava fountains form in park. 
PHOTOS OF THE DAY

This couple of comical fish seems to be serenading a third one that’s dancing. Dancing Mudskipper by Leo Liu of Singapore shows three mudskippers, amphibious fish that live in mudflats and connected mangrove ecosystems, and is a runner-up in the Mangrove Photography Awards 2021 

CREDIT: MEDIADRUMWORLD.COM/LEO LIU

A lady looks at the centrepiece called ‘One Thousand Springs’ created by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota, part of the Japan Festival, which is a celebration of the country’s breath-taking plants, art and culture, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London

CREDIT: STEVE PARSONS/PA

St Isaac’s Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia, prepares to host a wedding ceremony of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, a descendant of the Romanov dynasty, and his fiancée, Italian citizen Rebecca (Victoria) Bettarini

CREDIT: PETER KOVALEV//TASS VIA GETTY IMAGES

Residents of Spain’s La Palma were struggling on Thursday to come to terms with the devastation wrought by the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been ejecting a destructive cocktail of ash, smoke and lava for more than 10 days.

CREDIT: SPANISH INSTITUTE OF OCEANGRAPHY/HANDOUT VIA XINHUA

Market Closes for September 30th, 2021

Market
Index
Close Change
Dow
Jones
33843.92 -546.80
-1.59%
S&P 500 4307.54 -54.92
-1.19%
NASDAQ 14448.58 -63.86

-0.44%

TSX 20070.25 -87.89
-0.44%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Markets

Market
Index
Close Change
NIKKEI 29452.66 -91.63
-0.31%
HANG
SENG
24575.64 -87.86
-0.36%
SENSEX 59126.36 -286.91
-0.48%
FTSE 100* 7086.42 -21.74

-0.31%

Bonds

Bonds % Yield Previous % Yield
CND.
10 Year Bond
1.509 1.509
CND.
30 Year
Bond
1.992 1.992
U.S.   
10 Year Bond
1.4873 1.5167
U.S.
30 Year Bond
  2.0449   2.0604

Currencies

BOC Close Today Previous  
Canadian $ 0.7885 0.7841
US
$
1.2682 1.2753
Euro Rate
1 Euro=
Inverse
Canadian $ 1.4691 0.6806
US
$
1.1583 0.8633

Commodities

Gold Close Previous
London Gold
Fix
1737.15 1733.75
 
Oil
WTI Crude Future 75.03 74.83

Market Commentary:
⚓ On this day in 1720, after hitting nearly 1,000 in the summer, the price of South Sea Co. stock plunged to 180 a share on the London stock market. One legislator proposed tying each South Sea director up in a sack with a monkey and a snake, and throwing them into the river; angry mobs assaulted and nearly lynched stockbrokers in the streets.
Canada
By Divya Balji
(Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks fluctuated between gains and losses Thursday, ending the month with its biggest monthly decline in almost a year. The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.4% at the close in Toronto, bringing its monthly decline to 2.5%, the worst since October 2020. A measure of 10-day historical volatility spiked to the highest since July amid a selloff in tech stocks and a surge in Treasury yields and as investors weighed global supply chain risks. The benchmark also posted its first quarterly decline since March
last year. Seven of the 11 major industry groups fell, with consumer discretionary and industrials leading losses, while materials and consumer staples companies gained. Sleep Country Canada was the biggest loser with a 7.3% decline, falling in tandem with U.S. retailers as supply chain concerns heightened.  Lithium Americas Corp. was the top-performing stock Thursday, rising 8.2% after JPMorgan initiated coverage on the stock with a buy-equivalent rating. About 139 of 234 shares fell, while 93 rose and two were unchanged. Some Canadian provinces are closed for the Truth and Reconciliation National Day, but the Toronto Stock Exchange was open for trading.

Insights
* This year, the index rose 15%, heading for the best year since 2019
* This quarter, the index fell 0.5%, heading for the biggest decline since the first quarter of 2020
* This month, the index fell 2.5%, heading for the biggest decline since October 2020
* So far this week, the index fell 1.6%, heading for the biggest decline since the week ended Feb. 26
* The index advanced 24.5% in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 30% in the same period
* The Canada S&P/TSX is 3.96% below its 52-week high on Sept. 7, 2021 and 30.2% above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The Canada S&P/TSX is down 1.91% in the past 5 days and fell 2.49% in the past 30 days
* Canada S&P/TSX 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% on a trailing 12-month basis
* Canada S&P/TSX’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.18 trillion
* 30-day price volatility little changed to 9.52% compared with 9.51% in the previous session and the average of 7.13% over the past month  

Macro
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.65% to 1.2674 against the U.S. dollar
* The benchmark 10-year bond fell and the yield rose 0.68 basis points to 1.509%  

US
By Rita Nazareth and Kamaron Leach
(Bloomberg) — Volatility continued to roil financial markets, with U.S. equities notching their biggest monthly selloff since March 2020. Stocks pushed lower on Thursday even after confirmation that the House passed a nine-week spending bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown. For traders, that was just one within a  litany of risks. Investors are also bracing for the Federal Reserve to wind down its stimulus amid mounting fears about slowing economic growth, elevated inflation, supply-chain bottlenecks, a global energy crunch and regulatory risks emanating from China. Political wrangling in Washington is threatening to push the U.S. into default and force President Joe Biden to scale back his spending agenda. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin wants the social-spending package cut by more than half to $1.5 trillion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was pressing ahead with a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill, even though progressive Democrats said they have the numbers to stall it until the Senate agrees on a more expansive tax and spending package. “The old adage, the market climbs a wall of worry, is not lost on us,” said Tom Mantione, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management.
“Worries about China, the pandemic, the debt ceiling and tax legislation are weighing on investors right now, but it is important to understand which issues may create structural change and which ones create short-term volatility that investors can take advantage of.” The S&P 500 closed at the lowest level since July, extending its September losses to almost 5%.  Economically sensitive companies like industrials and financials were among the worst performers on Thursday. The slide almost wiped out the index’s gains for the quarter. A near-record technical streak for the S&P 500 has some bulls worried that a sharp pullback is overdue. “The S&P 500 has now gone an incredible 317 trading days in a row above its 200-day moving average, one of the longest streaks ever,” according to Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. “What we are getting at is a 5-7% pullback could potentially come at any time given we haven’t had one in so long.”
Elsewhere, oil closed the month almost 10% higher after a tumultuous session during which China was said to order its top energy companies to secure energy supplies at all costs amid shortages, prompting the White House to reiterate its own concerns over rising prices.

Here are some events to watch this week:
* Univ. of Michigan sentiment, ISM manufacturing, U.S. construction spending, spending/personal income, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 fell 1.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%
* The MSCI World index fell 0.6%

Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1581
* The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3475
* The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 111.29 per dollar

Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.52%
* Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.20%
* Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 1.02%

Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $75.01 a barrel
* Gold futures rose 2% to $1,756.70 an ounce
–With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Srinivasan Sivabalan, Vildana Hajric and Elaine Chen.

Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty.  Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. -Franz Kafka, 1883-1924.

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