Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>Broad global MSCI equity indexes (ACWI,ACWI ex-U.S.,EAFE, and EM) remain bearish with YTD downtrends intact. Until these indexes reverse downtrends, we are bearish and view bounces as bear market rallies.</li>
<li>Major non-U.S. countries appear to be much further along in the bottoming process, a potential sign that U.S. indexes could take a back seat once global equities finally bottom.</li>
<li>Indexes that have not made a new low since March: Nikkei 225, TOPIX, TOPIX Small, Hang Seng, Europe’s EURO STOXX 50, and China's MSCI China (MCHI-US) and China Internet (KWEB-US).</li>
</ul>


Broad global MSCI equity indexes (ACWI,ACWI ex-U.S.,EAFE, and EM) remain bearish with YTD downtrends intact. Until these indexes reverse downtrends, we are bearish and view bounces as bear market rallies.
Major non-U.S. countries appear to be much further along in the bottoming process, a potential sign that U.S. indexes could take a back seat once global equities finally bottom.
Indexes that have not made a new low since March: Nikkei 225, TOPIX, TOPIX Small, Hang Seng, Europe’s EURO STOXX 50, and China's MSCI China (MCHI-US) and China Internet (KWEB-US).


Hang Seng, MSCI China Near Major Base Breakouts; Bottoms-Up Stock Rec's in Hong Kong, China, & Japan

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF / Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>Many indexes (ACWI-US,ACWX-US,etc.) are near support, and we could see a bear market bounce, but until these indexes reverse their downtrends and break above resistance levels, we cannot be bullish.</li>
<li>On a positive note, we are starting to see signs that inflation is peaking, as commodity prices have pulled back substantially, and the Energy/Materials Sectors are under significant pressure.</li>
<li>If inflation and commodity prices have indeed peaked, global equities are likely in the early stages of a bottoming process.</li>
</ul>


Many indexes (ACWI-US,ACWX-US,etc.) are near support, and we could see a bear market bounce, but until these indexes reverse their downtrends and break above resistance levels, we cannot be bullish.
On a positive note, we are starting to see signs that inflation is peaking, as commodity prices have pulled back substantially, and the Energy/Materials Sectors are under significant pressure.
If inflation and commodity prices have indeed peaked, global equities are likely in the early stages of a bottoming process.


Inflation Peaking?; ACWI, ACWI Ex-US Near Support; Many Bottoms-Up Stock Recommendations

<ul>
<li>The bear market rally that we were on watch for started last week, confirmed by the bullish reversals on the DAX, Hang Seng, MSCI China (MCHI-US), and China Internet (KWEB-US).</li>
<li>Is this just another bear market rally, or will indexes are able to make a higher low and start a new bull market? Either way, it's a start.</li>
<li>We highlight attractive stocks from a bottoms-up perspective, spanning several Sectors. Over half hail from Japan, where the TOPIX Small index is reversing its downtrend.</li>
</ul>


The bear market rally that we were on watch for started last week, confirmed by the bullish reversals on the DAX, Hang Seng, MSCI China (MCHI-US), and China Internet (KWEB-US).
Is this just another bear market rally, or will indexes are able to make a higher low and start a new bull market? Either way, it's a start.
We highlight attractive stocks from a bottoms-up perspective, spanning several Sectors. Over half hail from Japan, where the TOPIX Small index is reversing its downtrend.


Cautiously Optimistic Following Downtrend Reversals; Japan Continues to Lead; Bottoms-Up Stock Rec's

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks, Windamee Research

J. Brian Waterhouse

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks

Windamee Research

Japanese Banks

Equity Bottom-Up

Most of Japan’s 77 TSE-listed regional banking entities are expected to announce their interim results from 10-12 November this year, but <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hachijuni-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20244:1" rel="noopener">Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP)</a> has once again announced its interim results well ahead of the rest.  While results comfortably beat initial guidance, there were no surprises thanks to an upward revision to guidance a week ago. Moreover, an examination of those ‘much improved’ numbers shows that the bank was once again heavily reliant on loan-loss reserve write-backs and ‘selling the family silver’ to keep profits up.The stock is currently just +3.0% higher than it was six months ago; most peers are up around +9% over the same period.  Indeed, Hachijuni Bank has been a conspicuous underperformer against the Topix Banks Index for much of CY2021.  Currently trading on a FY3/2022  PER of 8.3x and PBR of 0.21x, the stock is not especially compelling.  The bank’s woefully low RoE and RoA remain serial disincentives for investors, although some 17% of total shares outstanding continue to be held by die-hard foreigners.There are other regional bank stocks (such as <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/chiba-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1048:1" rel="noopener">Chiba Bank (8331 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shizuoka-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4437:1" rel="noopener">Shizuoka Bank (8355 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fukuoka-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3712:1" rel="noopener">Fukuoka Financial Group (8354 JP)</a> more deserving of investor interest than this one.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock, our position is clear: Caveat emptor!  (May the buyer beware!)<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/238/644/original/8359-Hachijuni-2021-1029+8359RelvsTPNBNK.jpg?1635648829" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="238644"></figure></section>

Most of Japan’s 77 TSE-listed regional banking entities are expected to announce their interim results from 10-12 November this year, but Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP) has once again announced its interim results well ahead of the rest.  While results comfortably beat initial guidance, there were no surprises thanks to an upward revision to guidance a week ago. Moreover, an examination of those ‘much improved’ numbers shows that the bank was once again heavily reliant on loan-loss reserve write-backs and ‘selling the family silver’ to keep profits up.The stock is currently just +3.0% higher than it was six months ago; most peers are up around +9% over the same period.  Indeed, Hachijuni Bank has been a conspicuous underperformer against the Topix Banks Index for much of CY2021.  Currently trading on a FY3/2022  PER of 8.3x and PBR of 0.21x, the stock is not especially compelling.  The bank’s woefully low RoE and RoA remain serial disincentives for investors, although some 17% of total shares outstanding continue to be held by die-hard foreigners.There are other regional bank stocks (such as Chiba Bank (8331 JP), Shizuoka Bank (8355 JP) and Fukuoka Financial Group (8354 JP) more deserving of investor interest than this one.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock, our position is clear: Caveat emptor!  (May the buyer beware!)

Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP):  Ahead of the Peloton

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is what stage magicians use to create their illusions, to the delight of the onlookers who are beguiled into looking elsewhere at a crucial moment in the conjuring trick when they might otherwise spot what the ‘magician’ is really doing.FY3/2021 results for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hachijuni-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20244:1" rel="noopener">Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP)</a> are, at first glance, impressive.  In difficult trading conditions, consolidated net profits sailed past the bank’s guidance by over 24% to ¥22.3 billion (a +1.4% YoY improvement over FY3/2020).  Management has generously raised the final dividend by 33% from ¥6/share to ¥8/share. But this was simply continuing a dividend policy that management has practiced most years since FY3/2017: a ¥6/share interim dividend and an ¥8/share final dividend.  Let us not forget that guidance for FY3/2021 was withheld by management until 30 October 2020, so well into the financial year.  And bottom-line profits relied heavily on ¥6.3 billion in 2nd Half gains from  ‘selling the family silver’, namely realizing gains on part of the bank’s share portfolio as global stock markets fortuitously rose.  Moreover, trading gains of ¥9.9 billion were needed to offset a six-fold rise in credit costs from ¥1.4 billion to ¥9.3 billion because the bank’s collection of non-performing loans rose by 29.3% to ¥101.1 billion in a single year: primarily in loans in ‘high risk’ categories.  The quality of reported profits is indeed strained.In terms of balance-sheet efficiency, the bank’s return on assets (RoA) has deteriorated further to just 20bps, while its return on equity (RoE) is a risible 2.70%.  With flat profits being forecast for FY3/2022, and trading on an unremarkable PER of 8.1x, there are far better investments in the Japanese banking sector than this.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock but may have noticed the apparent strong recovery in the bank’s profitability according to its FY3/2021 financial statements, our position is clear: Caveat emptor! (May the buyer beware!)

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is what stage magicians use to create their illusions, to the delight of the onlookers who are beguiled into looking elsewhere at a crucial moment in the conjuring trick when they might otherwise spot what the ‘magician’ is really doing.FY3/2021 results for Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP) are, at first glance, impressive.  In difficult trading conditions, consolidated net profits sailed past the bank’s guidance by over 24% to ¥22.3 billion (a +1.4% YoY improvement over FY3/2020).  Management has generously raised the final dividend by 33% from ¥6/share to ¥8/share. But this was simply continuing a dividend policy that management has practiced most years since FY3/2017: a ¥6/share interim dividend and an ¥8/share final dividend.  Let us not forget that guidance for FY3/2021 was withheld by management until 30 October 2020, so well into the financial year.  And bottom-line profits relied heavily on ¥6.3 billion in 2nd Half gains from  ‘selling the family silver’, namely realizing gains on part of the bank’s share portfolio as global stock markets fortuitously rose.  Moreover, trading gains of ¥9.9 billion were needed to offset a six-fold rise in credit costs from ¥1.4 billion to ¥9.3 billion because the bank’s collection of non-performing loans rose by 29.3% to ¥101.1 billion in a single year: primarily in loans in ‘high risk’ categories.  The quality of reported profits is indeed strained.In terms of balance-sheet efficiency, the bank’s return on assets (RoA) has deteriorated further to just 20bps, while its return on equity (RoE) is a risible 2.70%.  With flat profits being forecast for FY3/2022, and trading on an unremarkable PER of 8.1x, there are far better investments in the Japanese banking sector than this.  For those who are not yet holders of Hachijuni Bank stock but may have noticed the apparent strong recovery in the bank’s profitability according to its FY3/2021 financial statements, our position is clear: Caveat emptor! (May the buyer beware!)  

Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP):  A Case of Prestidigitation?

Japan

The Hachijuni Bank, Ltd. is a regional bank based in Nagano Prefecture. The Bank provides banking services such as deposits, loans, foreign exchange transactions, and trust accounts. The Bank also provides financial services such as leasing, credit cards, credit guarantee, debt recovery, trading, and venture capital and operates branches overseas.

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Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP)

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Inflation Peaking?; ACWI, ACWI Ex-US Near Support; Many Bottoms-Up Stock Recommendations

We're starting to see signs that inflation is peaking, as commodity prices have pulled back substantially or are breaking, and the Energy $XLE and...

Vermilion Research

Cautiously Optimistic Following Downtrend Reversals; Japan Continues to Lead; Bottoms-Up Stock Rec's

The bear market rally that we were on watch for started last week, confirmed by the bullish reversals on the DAX, Hang Seng, MSCI China $MCHI, and...

Vermilion Research

Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP): Ahead of the Peloton

Hachijuni Bank's interim results comfortably beat initial guidance, but there were no surprises thanks to an upward revision to earnings guidance a...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Hachijuni Bank (8359 JP): A Case of Prestidigitation?

Prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, is what magicians use to create their illusions. Onlookers are beguiled into looking elsewhere at a crucial...

J. Brian Waterhouse

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