Thematic (Sector/Industry)

• SEBI released consultation paper to reassesses stock derivatives eligibility criteria in line with the market growth.
• Aiming to improve liquidity and reduce manipulation with new entrants and removal of some illiquid stocks.
• Nuvama released list of stocks that can be possible part/exit from F&O if this consultation paper implemented.

• U.S. stocks mostly climbed on Tuesday, driven by a surge in Apple Inc., which soared 7.3% to a new record, marking its largest gain since November 2022
• Japan and the U.S. to enhance defense industry cooperation, focusing on joint missile production, ship and aircraft repair
• Daiwa Securities Group will acquire a 25 billion yen ($159 million) stake in Japan’s Aozora Bank, raising its ownership to about 20%.

• ASPEED blazing a trail with 92.9% YoY revenue growth in May
• Quanta, WiWynn, TSMC and Nanya all > 30% YoY revenue growth in May
• TSMC looking likely to exceed 30% YoY revenue growth in 2024

• Counting of consumption differs among different countries. Chinese definition of consumption (social retail sales) leave out many categories that are included in the definition of consumption of Japan and US;
• If we trim the consumption of Japan and US by adopting China’s definition, China actually over-consumes, both by GDP and by individual categories;
• If we expand and align China, Japan and US to consist the same categories, the conclusion of China underconsumption becomes true. The categories belong to an older and wealthy society. 

• State Bank Of India (SBIN IN) and Union Bank Of India (UNBK IN) Board Approves Fundraise in form of Debt and Equity
• Tata Steel Ltd (TATA IN)‘s £1.25 Billion Investment at Risk Amid UK Political Uncertainty
• Jubilant Foodworks (JUBI IN)’s India Reaches Milestone of 2,000 Stores, Plans Further Expansion

• Apple (AAPL US) ’s AI debut was going to be a complicated one considering challenges highlighted privacy concerns over partnership with Chat GPT.
• General Motors (GM US) Approves $6 Billion Share Buyback Amid Strong Gasoline Vehicle Demand
• Alaska Air Group (ALK US) Loses Appeal in $160 Million Trademark Case with Virgin America (VA US) Group

• There’s a gold rush in the world of AI for not just GPUs, but for datacenters and the power connections that supply them.
• Imagine this, you just bought 100,000 GPUs from Nvidia and you don’t have a place to put them or the power to feed them.
• Not being first to market is a huge cost, as the GPU pay back times are very quick right now even for the H100.

• The WTR Sustainable Index was down 3.6% W/W versus the S&P 500 Index (up 1.3%), the Russell 2000 Index (down 2.1%), and the Nasdaq Index (up 2.5%).
• Energy Technology (14.6% of the index) was down by 4.6%, while Industrial Climate and Ag Technology (58.5% of the index) was down by 3.4%, ClimateTech Mining was down 8.5%, and Advanced Transportation Solutions (21.0% of index) was down 2.9%.
• Top 10 Performers: RCKTF, NVVE, ROOF, CVW, GMGMF, NAAS, WPRT, OESX, COMM, AMSC

• Nvidia’s 0.8% rise, following its 10-for-1 stock split, and Meta Platforms’ nearly 2% jump propelled the S&P 500’s tech sector up by 0.3%
• At WWDC24, Apple unveiled major updates, including “Apple Intelligence” AI features across its devices, and integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT with Siri.
• Hitachi Energy plans an additional $4.5 billion investment by 2027 to enhance its global manufacturing, R&D, and digital capabilities, doubling its recent three-year investments

• Intel, AMD & Qualcomm all lined up in support of Microsoft’s CoPilot+ PC program during the Computex 2024 keynotes last week.  
• While Qualcomm is all in and AMD mostly too, Intel’s support is more passive agressive in nature. We outline how & why this is the case
• On Friday June 7, reacting to customer feedback, Microsoft announced that their CoPilot+ Recall feature will now become disabled out of the box by default. Ouch!

• Overall, the surge in CAPEX in India reflects a positive outlook for the economy, with investments in infrastructure and emerging sectors driving growth and innovation.  come.
• The strong balance sheet of companies and healthy tax collections further support this trend, indicating a sustainable path towards economic development. 
• As CAPEX continues to rise and investments in key sectors increase, India is poised for continued growth and prosperity in the years to

• Gail India (GAIL IN) to Invest Rs 60,000 Crore in Ethane Cracker Project in Madhya Pradesh.
• Suzlon Energy (SUEL IN) Director Resigns Citing Governance Concerns in his letter
• Masdar, JSW Energy Ltd (JSW IN), Torrent Power (TPW IN) , and More Eye Enel’s Indian Assets

• Much ado has been made about Nvidia’s valuation recently surpassing Apple’s, standing at a gobsmacking $3 trillion.
• For context, it would take you nearly 100,000 years to count to 1 trillion.
• But where there’s sky there’s limit, and NVDA is no exception. So the question begs: has NVDA’s valuation flown too close to the sun?

• Noble expands fleet and operations, acquiring Diamond Offshore in major merger
• Southwest shares soar as Elliott Investment plans $2 billion recovery strategy
• Europe attracts Chinese EV makers with incentives despite looming EU tariffs

• A rough week for smaller-cap stocks without AI exposure.
• The WTR Commercial/Contract Furniture Index (-6.9%), Residential Manufacturers & Suppliers Index (-1.4%), and Home Goods Retailers Index (-1.3%) underperformed the Dow (+1.2%), S&P 500 (+1.2%), and Mass Retailers Index (+1.9%), all of which benefited from the growing AI hype this week.
• This performance seems to be partly due to the overall weakness of small caps, with the Russell 2000 clocking in (-1.7%).

• It was a lackluster week for cannabis stocks, with the US cannabis MSOS ETF sliding 3.87%, while the global YOLO dropped 4.27%.
• Green Thumb Industries (CSE: GTII, OTCQX: GTBIF) was the only major MSO in the black, as investors were modestly encouraged by the Boston Beer Company (NASDAQ: SAM) conversation.
• Last Tuesday, we learned Green Thumb Founder, Chairman, and CEO Ben Kovler sent a letter to Boston Beer’s Founder and Chairman James Koch proposing a merger between the two companies. 

• The Global Emerging Markets Weekly summarizes the key news and related developments impacting the largest countries and constituents of the Global Emerging Markets equity indices.
• Macro data points: China Caixin PMI, South Korean trade and inflation data.
• Companies mentioned:Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) (2330 TT), Trip.com Group (9961 HK), JD.com (9618 HK), Lenovo (992 HK), Alibaba Group Holding (9988 HK), Meituan (3690 HK)

• Overall, the introduction of the price-linked tick size mechanism by the NSE is a positive development as it leads to improving market efficiency and enhancing price discovery. 
• This move is likely to benefit investors by reducing slippage costs and improving liquidity, especially for small-cap and mid-cap stocks. 
• The move is also evidence of intense competition between NSE and BSE. BSE earlier was the only exchange to offer reduced tick size.

• Global markets retained their positive momentum as weak U.S. economic data renewed concerns about the growth outlook.
• Next week is set to be eventful, with the FOMC and Bank of Japan meetings on the agenda. The FOMC, expected to maintain policy rates, might offer few surprises.
• Oil prices, after a five-day decline, rebounded as OPEC+ extended production cuts through 2025.

• April marked the record-breaking streak of eleventh consecutive month of record-high global temperatures and the 48th consecutive April above the 20th-century average.
• NOAA predicts a 61% chance that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and a 100% chance it will rank in the top five.
• One hundred national records have been broken for extreme heat since 2014. Death Valley in US holds record at 54.4C. Competition to break that is not too far.

• Rapid growth in India’s senior living sector, fueled by demographic changes and preferences for quality elderly care and lifestyle options.
• India’s rising needs of senior care and startups and listed companies growing in the space
• Under penetrated market, evolving needs and preferences of seniors; underscores investment potential in senior living; emphasizes the importance of specialized care for ageing populations.

• RBI keeps the repo rate at 6.5% for the eighth consecutive meeting.
• Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (ADSEZ IN) secured a Letter of Intent for Kolkata Port’s container terminal.
• Tata Steel Ltd (TATA IN) in talks with Dutch government for €3 billion decarbonisation funding.

• NIO US: NIO’s losses expanded in the first quarter of 2024, and C2Q likely will see better numbers.(/)
• NIO US:  Nio plans to launch the 3rd brand in December to target low end market.(/)
• LI US: LI L6 production capacity ramps up and delivery cycle shortens(+)

• Regular readers of this blog may know that I love tinkering with setups.
• Recent profitable ideas of late have come from identifying mispriced situations primed for profit e.g. TDS-PV and FF .
• Whilst a lot of focus in investing is on deep diving the fundamentals, the first easy pennies are often acquired via identification of a profitable set-up and thus, being able to identify profitable patterns is an important skill to hone.

• Microsoft’s $650 million investment in Inflection under FTC investigation for potential undisclosed acquisition.
• Texas introduces TXSE Group, backed by BlackRock, challenging NYSE and Nasdaq dominance.
• Saudi Aramco’s $11.2 billion stock offering supports Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation.

• Criterium Energy (CEQ CN) C: target price of C$0.35 per share: Re-iterating production guidance – 1Q24 production was 802 bbl/d with average realized price of US$82/bbl.
• This is in line with our expectations.
• Operating netbacks for the period stood at C$2.2 mm, also in line with our expectations.

• We highlight 14 stocks in Asia that look interesting to us based on our FVMR methodology
• Portfolio changes: Four stock remains, 10 stocks added into portfolio
• Since its inception, it has generated a before-fee total return of 187% versus the MSCI Asia ex Japan of 78%

• We highlight 14 stocks in ASEAN that look interesting to us based on our FVMR Methodology
• Portfolio changes: Five stocks remain, nine stocks added to our portfolio
• Since its inception, the portfolio has generated a before-fee total return of 255% versus MSCI ASEAN’s 30%

• Singapore’s major banks – DBS, OCBC, and UOB – have set sector-specific emissions targets for indirect emissions related to financial activities, known as Scope 3 “financed” emissions.
• Collectively, these sector targets span ten carbon-intensive sectors, represent S$200+ billion in corporate loan portfolios, and cover the majority of the banks’ total financed emissions.
• Financed emissions targets facilitate decarbonisation of emissions-intensive clients, reducing climate-related risks and creating opportunities for new and innovative financial products.

• China’s toll road sector has gone up by 47.4% since 2022, but it remains an excellent yield play with an average yield of 7.2% and 7.8% in FY24 and FY25.
• 1Q24 profit is solid, with 3-year forecast earnings CAGR at a healthy 6.5%. Anhui Expressway H (995 HK) and Jiangsu Expressway (H) (177 HK) have the most consistent DPS trend.
• We like Jiangsu Expressway (H) (177 HK) for its track record and growth prospects. As a relative underperformer in the sector, it is poised to catch up.

• Goldman Sachs: Coalition Management Key for BJP as Economic Stability Persists
• Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Z IN) to Raise Rs. 2,000 Crore Following Sony Deal Fallout, Spicejet Ltd (SJET IN) is also planning to raise funds in coming months
• RBI Approves Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB IN)’s 70% Stake Sale in Insurance Arm to Zurich Insurance

• ECB Delivers ‘Hawkish’ Rate Cut Amid Revised Inflation and Growth Projections
• Devon Energy Missed Out on the US Oil and Gas Mega-Deal Wave
• Salesforce to Launch Flagship AI Center in London, Part of $4 Billion UK Investment

• 3690 HK: The prevalence of short-distance trips bodes well for Metiuan, albeit long-distance trips remain lukewarm.(+)
• 700 HK: NPPA Released the June Import Game Code Approvals, and Tencent’s <VALORANT Mobile> received approval.(+)
• SHEIN/4385 JP: SHEIN expands its C2C shopping platform into Europe (+/-)

• The S&P 500 surged to a new high of 5,354.03, driven by Nvidia’s record-breaking performance and optimism around potential Federal Reserve rate cuts
• Japanese space debris remover Astroscale achieved a $1 billion market valuation on its Tokyo Stock Exchange debut.
• Shares of Lasertec fell 9% to 35,130 yen on June 5, closing 8% lower at 35,560 yen. The drop followed a report by Scorpion Capital alleging fraudulent accounting.

• The Indian market saw correction due to a lower mandate for the ruling government in the current elections hinting towards moderate policy-level reforms. 
• Election outcome is having impact on ruling government’s various agendas and reforms.
• Historical trends suggest this crisis creates opportunities for long term investing

• Nvidia’s stock soars 15%, aiming to make shares more accessible
• TotalEnergies invests £450 million in UK power plant, enhancing renewables
• Consolidation trend observed in Singapore’s office market amid tech shifts

• Hindalco Industries (HNDL IN) Postpones Novelis Corporation (0620365D US) IPO Amid Market Considerations
• Tata Motors Ltd (TTMT IN)‘s Tata Motors Finance to Merge with Tata Capital
• National Stock Exchange (NSEIN IN) Sets World Record for Highest Number of Transactions in a Single Day

• Paul Karazuba is the vice president of marketing at Expedera, an NPU IP startup in Silicon Valley.
• NPU, or neural processing unit, is a key topic of discussion in the podcast, with its unique ability to process at a much lower wattage compared to CPU and GPU cores.
• The necessity for dedicated NPU cores in running AI workloads, to allow CPU and GPU cores to focus on other tasks, is highlighted by both Paul and Austin.

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

• India’s stock market dropped $386 billion after election results showed a narrower-than-expected lead for Modi
• Intel’s CEO introduced new AI products at Computex, challenging Nvidia’s market dominance
• Chinese companies rush to raise funds amid a stock market rebound, driven by investor optimism and future uncertainty

• Weaker-Than-Expected job openings data prompted hopes for Fed rate cuts, pushing Treasury yields down for the fourth consecutive day
• A coalition of over 400 Japanese companies plans to establish a $1 billion fund by September to enhance hydrogen supply chains
• UNIQLO’s May 2024 same-store sales in Japan, including online, rose by 8.4% year-on-year, attributed to strong business during the Golden Week holiday

• McDonald’s uses price pack architecture with varying prices for different purchasing methods
• Pricing strategies raise questions about fairness, data privacy, and macroeconomic implications
• Surge pricing in fast food is already present, similar to dynamic pricing in other industries

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

• What will be implication in case of weaker Modi & BJP mandate?
• Public Sector and State-Owned Bank Shares Plunge whole day after poor BJP tally during counting.
• Improvement in Tata Steel Ltd (TATA IN)‘s credit profile by FY25 and Higher RoCE for Bharti Airtel (BHARTI IN) and Reliance Industries (RIL IN) 

• PDD/SHEIN/AMZN: U.S. CBP suspends customs brokers handling cross-border parcels for Temu and SHEIN (-/-/+)
• BABA US/JD US/PDD US/3690 HK:The upcoming regulatory policies on internet platform fees should not be overly negatively interpreted(///////)
• BABA US/JD US/3690 HK/1810 HK:Beijing Follows up with Subsidies for Replacing Old Appliances with New Ones, but National Subsidies Are Still Lacking(+/+/+/+)

• BEKE US:  Takeaways from Beike Investor Day on June 3(/)
• 9926 HK: Akeso adds sales rights to AK112 in developing countries, possibly preparing for overall sale(/)
• 1211 HK/ LI US: BYD launches fifth-generation hybrid petrol-electric technology, which can run 2,100 kilometers on full-tank+full-battery(///)

• Welcome back to the portfolio updates series!

• I recently read Michael J. Mauboussin’s book, More Than You Know, which is full of practical investment lessons drawn from various fields not necessarily related to investing.

• The quote below is from a chapter discussing market efficiency and cautioning investors against misusing behavioral finance to conclude that humans are irrational, and therefore, markets must be irrational as well.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115 points (0.30%) to 38,571.03, starting June with a decline after weak U.S. manufacturing data raised economic concerns.
• GameStop shares surged 21% to $28 on Monday, driven by speculation that Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty on X, holds a significant position in the company.
• The MLIT launched investigations into Japan’s auto companies and ordered some companies to suspend sales of specific models with potentially compromised safety features.

• Tencent’s <DNF Mobile> achieved ~RMB 1 billion gross billings (GB) in first week; 
• We raised NetEase’s <Condor Hero> gross billing estimate by 10% as it will launch a major update patch in C3Q24;
• The pre-registrations of Bilibili’s new game <Three Kingdom: MDTX> reached 2.5 million. We maintained our RMB 3-4 billion annual gross billing (AGB) in 2025 estimate unchanged.

• Adani Group’s overall Market Cap Surges, Rebounding After Hindenburg Report
• Surge in NSE’s Cash Market Turnover Led by Individual Investors
• Welspun Corp (WLCO IN) ‘s EPIC Secures Major Contracts with Saudi Aramco

• We highlight 14 stocks in Thailand that look interesting to us based on our FVMR Methodology
• Portfolio changes: Six stocks remain, eight new join the fray
• Since inception, it has gained 121% versus the SET 100 Index’s return of 20%

• GSK faces trial over Zantac cancer claims, risking costly settlements amid CEO successes
• Elon Musk accused of insider trading by shareholder, selling $7.5 billion in shares before bad news hit
• Beijing’s $42 billion housing bailout insufficient to tackle massive crisis, raising trade tension concerns

• Silicon Box January series B funding round in January 2024 pushed the advanced packaging startup into Unicorn status with a >$1 billion valuation
• In addition to their Singapore based 70,000 sq metre facility, they announced a second, $3.6 billion investment in Italy in March 2024
• Despite their unicorn status and being in business for nigh on three years, we still have no specifics on the precise nature of the advanced packaging technology they are offering

• The US cannabis MSOS ETF drifted 1.84% lower, while the global YOLO ETF slid 0.54%.
• Absent meaningful news, cannabis stocks are being pressured while we wait for the 60-day comment period on the proposed rule to reschedule cannabis.
• Most of the larger MSOs were down last week, with MariMed (CSE: MRMD, OTCQX: MRMD) at -10.46% and Cannabist (NEO: CBST, OTCQX: CBSTF) at -8.06% losing the most. 

• A good week for furniture and furnishings stocks. The Water Tower Research Commercial/Contract Index (+3.5%) and Home Goods Retailers Index (+2.5%) posted strong returns relative to the market (-0.5% to +0.1%) and the Mass Retailers Index (-0.6%).

• Our Residential Manufacturers & Suppliers Index (-0.5%) was in line with the broader market.

• The China price is now the highest in Asia. According to Science Is Strategic (citing Haver Analytics), unit labor rates in China are now ~2.5x to 4x higher than other Asian countries (see Figure 1). 

• The Dow added around 575 points on Friday taking its gains for the month of May to end the month up 2.3%. The Nasdaq climbed 6.9%…what’s that old adage?  
• SG Holdings announced a tender offer to acquire C&F Logistics Holdings at 5,740 yen per share, totaling around 123.7 billion yen ($788 million)
• Dalton Investments proposed a management buyout to take Japanese broadcaster Fuji Media Holdings private

• Indian credit markets have been growing rapidly, with banks and non-bank financial institutions increasingly lending and servicing retail clients to meet the growing demand for retail loans from a population that has recovered strongly post Covid-19 pandemic.
• Indian financial institutions are filling the retail financing gap so fast that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, has had to introduce new regulation to maintain financial stability in the Indian banking system. However, improvement in underlying fundamentals and roaring capital markets are driving large increases in bank balance sheets and valuations respectively.
• Criat’s Credit Cycle Index (Criat CCI) for Indian banks has steadily improved more than 15bps since the middle of 2023, as the NIFTY Bank index reached new highs of INR 49,000.

• The Global Emerging Markets Weekly summarizes the key news and related developments impacting the largest countries and constituents of the Global Emerging Markets equity indices.
• Macro data points: Chinese industrial profits, PMI data, and property sale measures.
• Companies mentioned:Naver Corp (035420 KS), Flipkart Online Services (1398508D IN), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)

• If you pay attention, the Internet has been a bit different lately. Many of the attributes and ways we once interacted with the internet is changing.

• I probably noticed it the most when one of my favorite websites, subredditstats.com showed me this image the other day.

• Reddit’s free API is closing. But so is X (formerly Twitter), and other properties all around the internet are slowly adding limits and closing their doors.