Thematic (Sector/Industry)

• Assets remained under pressure across the board: SPX (-4.2%), Nasdaq (-5.8%), Oil (-7.5%) and 10 year bonds (-20bps).
• Japanese stocks were also under pressure: Nikkei (-5.8%), Topix (-4.2%), while the yen strengthened almost 4 yen.
• Kao’s stock rose by 9% this week due to improved earnings estimates and favorable conditions for raising prices of everyday necessities in Japan

• The Global Emerging Markets Weekly summarises the key news and related developments impacting the largest countries and constituents of the Global Emerging Markets equity indices.
• Macro data points: Chinese PMI data, South Korean exports and inflation data.
• Companies mentioned:Alibaba Group Holding (9988 HK), ByteDance (1439927D CH)

• India’s IPO boom is bucking the global trend with highest ever IPOs in H12024; thanks to strong inflows and investor confidence.
• SEBI’s report show flipping trend with 54% of investors have sold their IPO bound stocks within a week of listing.
• 2024 has been the golden year for all the stakeholders considering better listing gains and returns along with number of opportunities available.

• China’s solar manufacturers have seen their bottom line severely hit by a deepening industry glut that has triggered a brutal price war.
• Several companies published first-half results on Friday, showing worsening profitability as the industry grapples with plunging prices.
• Longi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd., China’s largest solar wafer producer, reported a net loss of 5.2 billion yuan ($732 million) for the first six months, a sharp reversal from the 9.2 billion-yuan net profit recorded a year earlier.

• Adani-Tower JV to Set Up $10 Billion Semiconductor Plant in Maharashtra
• Reliance Industries’ 1:1 Bonus Shares Announcement and Stock Perfor mance  
• Centre Plans Incentives for Electric Ambulances and Police Vehicles under FAME III

• The South African All Property Index (J803) continued its strong run in August, rising 8.37% for the month.
• The All Property Index’s 2024 Total Return is now up 23.91%. 
• Investor in South African Listed Property are finally reaping the rewards for their patience through a long and difficult down-cycle for the sector.

• Condor Energies (CDR CN)C; Target price C$5.80 per share: Initiating coverage – Condor Energies is a ~US$75 mm market cap TSX-listed company focused on low carbon and energy transition opportunities in Central Asia.
• Condor was transformed in 2024 by the acquisition of >10 mboe/d production of natural gas in Uzbekistan.
• The key value driver for the shares is the imminent sanction of Condor’s 1st liquefaction plant in Kazakhstan to convert low-cost natural gas into high value LNG to displace expensive diesel for rail and mining haul truck transportation.

• Wall Street is bracing for Friday’s crucial jobs report, expected to influence Federal Reserve policy. Nonfarm payrolls are forecast to grow by 161,000 in August
• Seven & i Holdings will reject Alimentation Couche-Tard’s $40 billion takeover offer, deeming the price too low
• Effissimo Capital Management, an activist investment fund, has increased its stake in Teijin from 6.03% to 7.67%

• Not much lead from the US, although Broadcom numbers missing after hours set a slightly negative tone for tech, despite NVDA and TSLA posting gains.
• The market should like the news that 3382 7&I is engaging with ACT and asking for a higher bid, which may also indicate their failure to attain ‘core’ status from the JP Govt.
• PPIH looks oversold after missing out on NKY225 inclusion yesterday, especially in comparison to Baycurrent who also missed, yet finished the day +4.5%.

• Tech and cloud firms are heavily investing in artificial intelligence, but there are questions about whether the revenues from AI will catch up with the capital spending
• It will take time for big tech companies to see a return on their AI investments, with the AI build-out expected to take years
• There are opportunities for investment in firms supplying key inputs for the AI sector, such as energy, utilities, materials, and real estate

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• Our core pick is flow monster CME Group for its dominant franchise through its trading and post-trading (including clearing) operations in interest rates, equity indices, foreign exchange and commodity derivatives
• We also like Deutsche Borse as the European flow monster and for its attractive valuations and gearing into greater European securities activity
• We downgrade Japan Exchange to a neutral from buy for its fair valuations, as we see more compelling opportunities with CME group and Deutsche Borse; CBOE is one to watch

• Credit growth is persistently weak in Australia, and this is as good of a sign as any, of weak demand or / and worsening credit metrics.
• Many other figures at the macro level point to weakness ahead (and now) for Australia’s banks even if credit costs appear low.
• WBC data on stressed corporate exposures shows all too well how migration can impact bad loans. BEN shows this too, with mortgage loans.

• Adani plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore via NCDs from retail investors, diversifying funding sources.
• Reliance secures 10 GWh battery storage under India’s PLI scheme, advancing clean energy goals.
• Nazara partners with Telangana to launch an AI Centre, driving innovation in gaming and emerging tech.

• BABA US/700 HK/WB US/PDD US/JD US/VIPS US:Taobao to launch WeChat Pay support this month (+/+/-/-/-/-)
• 3690HK: Meituan Plans to Increase Marketing Investment to Support Small and Medium-sized Restaurant Businesses(+)
• 3690HK: Meituan food delivery and Meituan hotel services launch on Alipay Mini Program(+)

• 1211 HK/LI US/XPEV US/NIO US: In the 35th week of 2024, BYD’s EV delivery hits a new high, while Xpeng’s sales increase by 700 units(///////)
• LI US/NIO US/XPEV US: Xiaomi SUV spy photos exposed, similar to Model Y, good news for Li Auto, NIO and Xpeng.(+/+/+)
• XPEV US: XPEV MONA M03 pre-order exceeded only 30K in 48 hours.(/)

• SEBI has overhauled F&O eligibility criteria, introducing stricter norms for stock inclusion and exclusion for more active stocks. 
• As per calculation, New criteria will include 80 stocks and exclude 18 to 23, impacting market liquidity and stability.
• This will lead to the creation of a more robust, transparent, and liquid for the F&O Market.

• U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending down for the fourth time in the past five sessions
• Nvidia, the U.S. chipmaker, will invest several billion yen in Sakana AI, a Japanese AI startup co-founded by former Google researchers.
• Biden to block Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel (X: -17%) on national security grounds

• Samvardhana Motherson Plans $1 Billion QIP for Debt Reduction or Acquisition.
• Tata Consumer Ltd. Products Merges Three Subsidiaries to Streamline Operations 
• Adani Power to Invest INR 18,000 Crore to Triple Kawai Plant Capacity

• NKY225 rebalance decision was made yesterday: Ryohin Keikaku and NRI replaced Nippon Paper and DIC. A focus on sector balance should continue to be positive for future consumer goods candidates.
• With US markets stabilizing there are several names with strong fundamental drivers which look attractive as buy the dip candidates after yesterdays heavy selling.
• US job opening data below street estimates increases likelihood that Fed will start with a 50 bps cut this month. Should help the likes of Shin Etsu and Sumitomo Forestry.

• Hot Chips this year was primarily about AI chips (per the theme of every semiconductor conference as of late).
• The most impactful presentation by far was the Broadcom CPO presentation, SuperMicro water cooling, MTIA, and some honorable mentions to Enfabrica and Dojo/Mojo from Tesla.
• The biggest disappointment was AMD, which presented nothing incremental and, of course, the CPU announcements.

• U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as September trading began, with major indexes posting their worst declines since August 5
• UNIQLO’s August domestic same-store sales increased 25.3% year-on-year, the highest growth since February 2023
• Bain Capital has made a 600 billion yen counteroffer to acquire Japanese firm Fuji Soft, outbidding KKR’s earlier 560 billion yen offer

• Echoes of August with Japan looking to start the day very weak on the lead from US semi related.
• Expect heavy selling for recent retail margin favourites e.g. Mercari, IHI, KHI and Socionext, and SPE winners such as Kokusai and Advantest, although the sector will start under heavy pressure.
• Nothing from Nikkei Inc. yet on their NKY225 rebalance decision, but expect outsized volatility today with many multi-strategy pods shuttered during the August sell off.

• NTES US/BABA US: NPPA Released August Domestic Game Code Approvals.(+/+)
• 700 HK: 700 HK: <Honor of Kings> July Grossing Up 26% MoM. (+)
• BABA US: Alibaba backed AI-startup launches video and music generation model (+)

• ICICI Bank and Zee Entertainment Stocks in Focus Amid SEBI Chief Allegations
• Mankind Pharma to Raise INR 9,000 Crore Debt for Bharat Serums and Vaccines Acquisition
• Vedanta Resources Plans $1.5 Billion Bond Issuance to Refinance Debt

• 1519 HK/ZTO US: Weekly parcel volume grew ~28% y-o-y (+)
• ATAT US/TCOM US: Hotel industry showcased strong performance in the last week of August due to eased base effect.(+/+)
• Macro Update: The mortgage interest rate for existing loans may be further reduced, releasing at least RMB200 billion of residents’ funds annually, bodes well for consumption in China(+)

• European equities extended gains on Monday, with the Eurozone’s Stoxx 50 rising 0.3%, its highest since mid-July, and the Stoxx 600 closing flat at a record high of 525.
• Japanese corporate capital expenditure increased 7.4% year-on-year in Q2, supporting expectations of domestic-led economic recovery
• Yamaha announced a share buyback of up to 14 billion yen, acquiring up to 6 million shares (3.7% of issued shares) 

• Rio Tinto discusses the challenges of M&A deals and the need for synergies to exceed the premium paid.
• Glencore CEO talks about the oversupply in cobalt and copper, but sees potential for upside in pricing as demand grows and supply steadies.
• Mining companies navigating complex market dynamics and strategic decisions amidst changing commodity prices.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• U.S. stocks closed a volatile week and month on a positive note; The Dow Jones rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 gained 1%, and the Nasdaq added 1.1%
• Tokyo’s core inflation accelerated to 2.4% in August, exceeding expectations and the Bank of Japan’s 2% target
• Cboe Global Markets is acquiring a 14.8% stake in Japannext, a proprietary trading system provider, from SBI Holdings

• News Intel may be looking to restructure and even sell its fab business, a slight negative for Japanese SPE suppliers.
• Japan upping defence budget to a record high a positive for related names, including KHI which has been excessively weak on the news it fabricated data for marine engine business.
• Nikkei Inc. is expected to announce results for 30th September rebalance today or tomorrow which may see big buying for the likes of Ryohin Keikaku, NRI and possibly one other.

• Stocks have rebounded impressively since the near 10% correction in early August, buoyed by a still-growing economy, positive earnings, and signals of Fed readiness to ease monetary policy
• This week, the Japanese market saw solid performance. Following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole, the Nikkei rebounded, adding 283 yen, marking its third consecutive weekly gain
• Koei Tecmo’s stock price surged 13% this week, driven by the announcement of their new game, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, during Nintendo Direct 

• On Aug 23, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development shared an estimate of the scale of new homes sold and still due for delivery in 2024
• The figure is 3.96 million, which at around 100sqm per unit average would imply around 400 million sqm GFA of property
• This is a more realistic figure than the much bigger numbers derived from macro data on sales, completions, and under-construction

• NTPC to establish Plans New Subsidiary for Nuclear Energy Expansion
• Raymond Lifestyle’s Strategic Expansion: 900 New Stores in Three Years
• L&T Construction Slashes Timelines by 50% with 3D Printing Technology

• Vanguard’s 95.3% reduction in TSMC holdings underscores concerns over geopolitical tensions and supply chain risks impacting the semiconductor sector’s stability and future growth. 
• Citadel’s 876% increase in Thermo Fisher shares reflects strong confidence in the healthcare sector, particularly in companies poised to benefit from technological advancements and market expansion. 
• Berkshire Hathaway’s 49.3% cut in Apple holdings suggests a strategic move to lock in profits after significant gains, while reallocating capital to less volatile investments.

• China has denounced the European Commission’s plan to definitely impose tariff hikes on all electric vehicles (EVs) shipped from the country as “unreasonable,” and vowed to take “all necessary measures” to defend Chinese companies.
• The commission on Tuesday announced an adjusted set of proposed additional duties on China-made EVs as part of an ongoing investigation that found state subsidies are enabling Chinese electric-car makers to undercut their European rivals.
• In an escalation of trade frictions, China on Wednesday launched an anti-subsidy investigation into European Union dairy products.

• Today news reported that China has announced policy where mortgage holders can negotiate with banks on their rates.  We think this is a strong boost to the sentiment
• Despite today sector is up 3-11%, valuation is at all time low and we think the risk reward profile is attractive, especially macro environment is turning more favorable
• We think there can be potential upside of 40-200% depending on stock selection.  We also identify 5 factor that can drive a sector rerating

• This note is a weekly (select weeks on SK) curated selection of Chinese news articles and company announcements focused on developers in distress
• We look for their deals, updates, specific project progress news (‘local signals’), as well as relevant local research commentaries about the market
• We do not verify the underlying data or provide any opinion, we only select and summarize the information; See direct links to sources

• Our annual ‘draw the line’ forecast, by market participants in early 2024, of China’s new home sales shows the reality (data to July) proved more challenging than expected
• In contrast, 2023 was more in line with expectations, with the ‘wisdom of crowds’ working better; but in 2022 no one got close to predicting the extent of the decline
• The forecast focuses on NBS national new home sales (GFA) monthly 12M vs the prior 12M growth rate, with some distortions due to data revisions by NBS

• WTR-CMI keeping pace with broad markets. YTD, the S&P 500 has appreciated 18%, compared with the 9.5% appreciation for the broader Russell 2000, while our WTR-CMI Index has improved 8.4%, held back primarily by lithium stocks, which are off anywhere from 37% for ALB to 68% for PLL.
• Two companies in our index, RYAM and ECL, have outperformed even the tech-heavy S&P 500, coming off a challenging 2023.
• Unfortunately, with both lithium and ag markets still under pressure, we do not expect companies in our sector to outperform the broader markets in 2H24, although individual stock outperformance may continue.

• AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ Arrow Exploration (AXL LN/CN)C; Target price £0.70 per share: Key horizontal wells outperforms expectations – Arrow has now drilled 3 horizontal wells in Carrizales Norte.
• The flow rates of the wells are exceeding our expectations.
• The first CN horizontal well (CNB HZ-1) is being restricted to a current oil flow rate of 2,090 bbl/d with approximately 41% water cut.

• Wall Street showed mixed results on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record high, closing at 41,335, up 0.59%
• ASICS will discontinue selling baseball equipment like gloves and bats by September 2025
• Toyota Motor Corporation reported a slight year-on-year increase in domestic production for July, reaching 309,118 units.

• Tech selloff overnight on NVDA post-earnings weakness was fairly contained, and SPE related in Japan should continue yesterdays rebound off the morning lows.
• Big beat for Dell on the strong outlook for its AI servers outweighing the soft consumer PC market sending it +8% in after-market trading.
• News that Tepco plans to spend $3.2bn to upgrade its electricity infrastructure to 2030 positive for wire/cable names and related names.

• Adani Ports to Invest INR 3,500 Crore in Madhya Pradesh Projects
• Wipro’s Strategic AI Partnerships in US Healthcare: Strong FY25 Forecast
• Dixon Technologies to Partner with China’s HKC for Display Module Manufacturing

• LI US:Li Auto’s second quarter revenue and profit exceeded expectations, and L6’s unit price and gross profit were better than expected. (/)
• 1810 HK/1211 HK/ LI US/XPEV US/NIO US:Week 34 of 2024: New energy vehicles grow healthily,BYD hit a new high, AITO rebounded, Xiaomi continued to fall back.(/////////)
• NIO US/XPEV US/ LI US: AITO M5 caught fire, positive for LI.(/////)

• PDD US:PDD valuation cheaper than slower growing e-commerce peers. (/)
• SHEIN: SHEIN launches semi- consignment model in the EU.  (/)
• BABA US: Taobao launches “Grass-Planting Plan” to drive off-site traffic to Taobao (+) 

• We highlight 14 stocks in Thailand that look interesting to us based on our FVMR Methodology
• Portfolio changes: Seven stocks remain, seven new join the fray
• Ince inception, it has gained 112% versus the SET 100 Index’s return of 24%