Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Stocks Barely Budge and more

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Stocks Barely Budge
Japan Morning Connection: Exporters to Jump on the Weak Yen
Mat-Chem Notes – Hurricanes, Port Strikes, Geopolitics, and Crosscurrents in EVs

Ohayo Japan | Stocks Barely Budge

U.S. stocks edged slightly higher Wednesday despite escalating Middle East tensions between Israel and Iran
UNIQLO reported a 22.1% increase in domestic same-store sales for September, marking six months of consecutive growth
Toyota Motor is delaying its electric vehicle production in North America from 2025 to early 2026, citing design adjustments and slowing EV sales in the U.S. market

Further PM Ishiba flip-flopping on his previously hawkish rates policy, set to catch markets wrong footed today.
Homebuilders may face a bigger fallout than expected from hurricane Helene given the potential to squeeze margins as materials and workers are prioritized for emergency efforts.
Exporters including autos, R/E and tourism related names should see renewed interest on the weak yen.

WTR-CMI last week. Driven by the recovery in lithium stocks, our WTR-CMI index of 30 specialty chemicals and materials technology stocks rose 1.7% for the week, handily outperforming mostly flattish performance of large cap tech-heavy S&P 500 as well as the broader Russell 2000 indices.
YTD the WTR-CMI continues to outperform the Russell 2000 (13.6% vs. 9.8%) and on YoY basis our index nearly kept up with S&P 500’s strong 33.8% rise by appreciating 31.1% compared to Russell 2000’s 24.6% improvement.
Hurricane season kicks into high gear. While the impact of hurricane Helena are still being assessed, Francine’s impact on oil and gas production and barge traffic are already being felt in the markets, with gulf coast oil production down nearly 40% and natural gas production down nearly 50%, with barge fleets staying away from the region until weather settles, which now looks to be delayed due to Helena’s destructive path.

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