Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Markets: Dow +0.8%, S&P 500 +0.6% (near Tuesday’s record high), Nasdaq +0.6%
On Sunday, a Houthi ballistic missile strike on Riyadh’s airport killed 12 people and injured over 300, prompting the Trump administration to consider direct military intervention against the group.
Mon 12 Oct: US equities open, but US bond markets are closed for Columbus Day. Japan is also closed for Sports Day.

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #15 | 4-10 Oct 2026.

By Mo Aziz

Samsung printed a record ₩107.4tn Q3 operating profit, in line with the lowered bar, and fell 2.4%. Two record prints in eight days, Micron then Samsung, bought nothing.
Second straight down week: coverage −5.9% as the S&P rose 1.2%. Korea led (KOSPI −5.4%) as Solidigm hired IPO banks; NAND followed spot prices lower; Taiwan held.
Ratings and TPs held. Stay long Micron (TP $1,375), add at ≤$975; hold SK Hynix, no add before Q3 on 27 Oct. Nanya’s 12 Oct margin is next.

China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (5-9 Oct)

By Wilfred Yuen

Arrivent’s EGFR inhibitor firmonertinib (licensed from Shanghai-based Allist) failed a global phase 3 in lung cancer; argenx discontinued phase 3 of efgartigimod (ZLAB licensed its China rights) in Sjogren’s disease
Asieris (688176.CH) licensed out cervical precancerous treatment Cevira to Theramex for US$250m; MicuRx (688373.CH) licensed out MRX-23 ADC and STOPIN platform to ClearideBio in multi-asset global deal for US$973m (upfront US$100m).
Other updates/news: Genscript/NVIDIA, SBP’s PDE3/4 inhibitor, ZhongSheng Pharma’s biweekly GLP-1/GIP

This Week in AI (Oct 4-10): Haiku 5.5’s Throat-Cutting Prices; OpenAI Revenue Trails Expectation

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Anthropic launched Claude Haiku 5.5 at up to 90% lower prices, Reflection AI unveiled its Beam open-weight model, and OpenAI’s annualized revenue was below recent estimates.
OpenAI rolled GPT-6 out across ChatGPT, AWS added Zhipu’s GLM-5.3 to Bedrock, TSMC’s third-quarter revenue rose 50.9% YoY and Samsung guided record operating profit.
DeepSeek neared USD 12bn of new funding, Moonshot closed at about USD 50bn, Firmus withdrew its ASX IPO and SpaceX sought about USD 40bn of debt for Nvidia chips.

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Oct 11

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 11) – Shionogi and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 11) – Shionogi, Terumo, Ono Pharma, Celltrion, Hanmi Pharm, CSL
Kakaku.com’s 23 Listed Years: What It Got Right, From a Frothy IPO to a Bidding War

APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 11) – Shionogi, Terumo, Ono Pharma, Celltrion, Hanmi Pharm, CSL

By Tina Banerjee

Shionogi is acquiring CNS biopharmaceutical company IntraBio for an upfront consideration of $2B. Ono Pharmaceutical entered exclusive license agreement with Biohaven to develop and commercialize Biohaven’s IgG degrader portfolio.
Celltrion launched first Xolair biosimilar in the U.S. at 15% discount to the original product. Hanmi Pharmaceutical received domestic marketing approval for Eppe (Epeglenatide), a new GLP-1 class obesity drug.
CSL is mutually terminating the supply agreement with Terumo and is transitioning to Haemonetics platform. The company stuck new drug development deal with Alentis Therapeutics.

Kakaku.com’s 23 Listed Years: What It Got Right, From a Frothy IPO to a Bidding War

By Steven Chen

Kakaku.com returned about 28x with dividends from its first trading day in 2003 to this year’s takeover offers, roughly 15.5% a year, against 8.4% for TOPIX with dividends.
Early on it grew into a debut priced at 267x earnings, shut its own flagship site after a 2005 breach and launched Tabelog with two staff.
Later, Tabelog turned reviews into JPY 20bn of reservation fees, return on equity averaged 36% for a decade, and two bidding groups competed for it.

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Oct 10

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): When They Were Up and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

When They Were Up, They Were up ?
Japan Strategy Weekly | AI Jitters Cap Gains as BOJ Rate-Hike Bets Build
Singapore Market Roundup (09-Oct-2026): CGSI is optimistic about Sembcorp.
Semi – Liquid or Fully – Liquid?
AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 09.10.2026

When They Were Up, They Were up ?

By The Fund Review

The return to a rising interest rate environment changes the outlook for private assets.
The headwinds to private equity transaction activity from higher borrowing costs are likely to persist. The venture and growth segments that provide exposure to AI companies are less sensitive given the weight of money chasing these opportunities.
Real estate faces the double hit of higher borrowing costs and the increased relative attractiveness of risk -free assets.

Japan Strategy Weekly | AI Jitters Cap Gains as BOJ Rate-Hike Bets Build

AI profit-taking caps the Nikkei, but strength in semiconductor equipment and domestic software points to rotation rather than retreat.
Strong wages keep October and December BOJ hikes in play, even as easing bond yields weigh on banks.
Rorze surges on record orders and higher guidance, while INFRONEER slumps on a dilutive share offering.

Singapore Market Roundup (09-Oct-2026): CGSI is optimistic about Sembcorp.

CGSI has a positive outlook on Sembcorp.
Maybank downgrades Sheng Siong to ‘hold’ with reduced target price.
DBS keeps ‘buy’ rating on Singtel amid Airtel’s postpaid price hike.

Semi – Liquid or Fully – Liquid?

By The Fund Review

8 of the 10 largest semi -liquid funds have scaled back redemptions in the past year validating skeptics, but that doesn’t automatically mean traded funds win.
Semi-liquid structures show higher risk -adjusted returns (better Sharpe ratios) across 1, 3, and 5-year periods, with much lower volatility than their traded counterparts.
But traded funds are cheap right now: private equity and private credit trading vehicles sit at discounts to NAV well above historical norms —a genuine valuation opportunity, if you can stomach the volatility and navigate thin volumes.

AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 09.10.2026

By Auctus Advisors

AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ CanCambria Energy (CCEC CN)C; Target price of C$2.90 per share: Equity raise to fund shallow oil seismic – CanCambria has raised C$6.9 mm through an offering of 23.0 mm units at C$0.30 per unit, each comprising one share and one warrant exercisable at C$0.40 per share for 36 months.
Proceeds fund a proprietary 3D seismic survey over the Soltvadkert/Tázlár/Alpár (STA) shallow oil fairway (C$4 mm in 4Q26 in our model) and the de-risking of ten shallow oil prospects.
There are 400 legacy wells across CanCambria’s licence, and neighbouring analogue fields have collectively produced over 160 mmboe from 15 fields, with oil gravities of 22–40° API.

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Oct 09

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | ChatGPT Revenue Gap Spooks Chips and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | ChatGPT Revenue Gap Spooks Chips
Singapore Market Roundup (08-Oct-2026): UOBKH keeps ‘buy’ on United Hampshire US REIT as retail
Asia Real Estate Tracker (08-Oct-2026): Brookfield buys 8 industrial parks in India.
Hardman & Co Insight | UK housebuilders – A decade of disappointment
LIT Update: Liberté, Égalité, Crappy Lycées. A quick primer on France’s student protests.
Everyone wants to catch the falling knife in the bond market
REF China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | Oct 3-8, 2026
A Solar Energy Slam Dunk Nobody Was Taking

Ohayo Japan | ChatGPT Revenue Gap Spooks Chips

Tech leads US lower: S&P 500 −0.5%, Nasdaq −1.3%, Dow +0.1%. Brent at $104 and Waller signalling more Fed hikes added pressure.
TSMC beat not enough: Chips fell on OpenAI’s revenue miss and Oracle’s off-balance-sheet AI financing despite TSMC’s Q3 beat.
Fast Retailing beats: FY8/26 operating profit (OP) rose 32% to ¥743.1bn, above consensus. FY8/27 guidance is OP +12% to ¥830.0bn, in line.

Singapore Market Roundup (08-Oct-2026): UOBKH keeps ‘buy’ on United Hampshire US REIT as retail

UOBKH maintains ‘buy’ on United Hampshire US REIT amid retail sector revival.
Phillip Securities initiates ‘buy’ rating for JEP at 83 cents.
JP Morgan recommends reducing DBS and OCBC holdings, favoring UOB instead.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (08-Oct-2026): Brookfield buys 8 industrial parks in India.

By Asia Real Estate Tracker

Brookfield has strengthened its foothold in India’s shed market by acquiring eight ESR industrial parks.
CPPIB and Temasek have significantly increased funding for Nuveen’s Australian debt strategy to over $679 million.
Major players like Blackstone, Bain, and Warburg are vying for a substantial $6.3 billion opportunity in Japan.

Hardman & Co Insight | UK housebuilders – A decade of disappointment

By Hardman & Co

What lies ahead for the UK housebuilding sector?
Analyst Nigel Hawkins explores the challenges and opportunities facing the industry, from the Government’s ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes to the impact of rising inflation and interest rates on mortgage affordability and demand.
The article considers how recent measures aimed at supporting first-time buyers could provide some encouragement for the sector, while also examining the financial strength of leading housebuilders and their recent share price performance.

LIT Update: Liberté, Égalité, Crappy Lycées. A quick primer on France’s student protests.

By Marc Rudajev

The French did not invent the protest, indeed the Romans had their plebeian walkouts, the English had the Peasants’ Revolt, and the Americans dumped perfectly good tea into Boston Harbor.
But since 1789, France has held the heavyweight title belt and defended it against all comers.
If striking were an Olympic sport, France would have won countless gold medals.

Everyone wants to catch the falling knife in the bond market

By FX Macro

Bond yields are the overwhelming focus; the 10-year breached 5.3% and most writers see fiscal deficits, heavy issuance, and AI capex driving yields structurally higher.
Inflation is considered persistent, with core PCE above 3% and the Fed missing its target for 66 months.
Equity market internals are deteriorating sharply — record index highs are being built on narrow mega-cap leadership, a classic late-cycle signal.

REF China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | Oct 3-8, 2026

By Robert Ciemniak

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 summarise the information. See direct links to the sources

A Solar Energy Slam Dunk Nobody Was Taking

By All Things VC

What sits under the name is a full stack platform for distributed solar.
Three businesses: financing through an in house NBFC, B2B commerce for procurement, and the solar tech layer that ties them together.
The numbers today: around 600 crores disbursed, roughly 75 to 80 million dollars.

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Oct 08

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Rates Scare and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Rates Scare, AI Capex Rolls On
Energy Roundup : Oil Exploration Back in Vogue; Middle East Oil Exports Recently at Pre-War Level
India Quick Commerce Monthly Tracker- September 2026
Singapore Market Roundup (07-Oct-2026): RHB remains ‘overweight’ on Singapore banks; boosts UOB
Asia Real Estate Tracker (07-Oct-2026): DayOne Data Centers seeks US IPO after revenue triples.
First Look at 10 Nano Cap Banks

Ohayo Japan | Rates Scare, AI Capex Rolls On

US stocks slip from records: Dow −0.7%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq −0.2%, as the 30Y UST hits its highest since 2002 and Brent nears $100.
AI capex keeps building: Citi sees TSMC lifting capex, and SpaceX plans a $40bn debt raise to buy Nvidia GPUs. Both support Tokyo Electron, Advantest and Screen.
US regulators probe Deere as Yamaha Motor signs a tie-up with it; Kubota in focus

Energy Roundup : Oil Exploration Back in Vogue; Middle East Oil Exports Recently at Pre-War Level

Global oil exploration seeing increased activity. Last month in our Energy Roundup, we wrote that the decline in global oil exploration over the past decade could eventually result in an oil supply shortage.
Much of this has been driven by energy exploration and production companies favoring cash returns to shareholders (dividends and stock buybacks) over reinvesting more capital into exploration activities.
As Figure 1 illustrates, industry oil & gas exploration spending was down nearly 50% compared with the level from the late 2000s.

India Quick Commerce Monthly Tracker- September 2026

By Garvit Bhandari

Blinkit turned adjusted EBITDA positive in Q1 FY27 after narrowing FY26 losses to 0.6% of NOV; Instamart’s contribution margin improved 440bps YoY to -0.2%.
Amazon committed US$3bn to India q-commerce through 2030, while Flipkart Minutes is scaling rapidly in Tier-2 cities and has surpassed Instamart’s top-10-metro store count.
Zepto’s proposed IPO has reset to ~INR5,100cr from INR11,000cr, signalling that public investors increasingly demand operating leverage before awarding premium valuations.

Singapore Market Roundup (07-Oct-2026): RHB remains ‘overweight’ on Singapore banks; boosts UOB

RHB stays ‘overweight’ on Singapore banks; raises UOB’s TP with rising rates.
Macquarie downgrades JMSEA to ‘underperform’ due to premium over NAV.
Citi downgrades OCBC to ‘sell’ with a target price of $27.50.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (07-Oct-2026): DayOne Data Centers seeks US IPO after revenue triples.

By Asia Real Estate Tracker

DayOne Data Centers is set to launch a US IPO after experiencing a revenue surge to $512 million.
Tishman Speyer successfully raised $395 million for its Korea Living Fund, supported by a German pension.
Forza Capital sold a retail center in Melbourne for $82 million, while CloudHQ plans a Tokyo data center.

First Look at 10 Nano Cap Banks

By Watchlist Investing

This looks like a very unusual bank. It’s effectively an investment portfolio with a bank charter.
Two-thirds of its assets are in its HTM portfolio, with another ~13% in equities.
Just 10% of assets are in loans. And it has a grand total of one branch.

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Oct 07

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Records and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Records
HK Strategy: Rate Hike Exposure – Fixed & Floating Rate Debt Analysis
Sohn Tokyo Preview: SILQ Capital’s Hideki Kinuhata on Japan’s Mid-Cap Mispricings, Why Liquidity Is
Singapore Market Roundup (06-Oct-2026): PhillipCapital rates AvePoint ‘accumulate’; Swaen warns
AI Flow Industry Model : Tracking the Capex Flood and Revenue Streams – 6 October 2026
Buffett Sherwood Foundation 2025 990 Filing: Revenue Climbs to $943 Million as Investment Portfolio

Ohayo Japan | S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Records

US equities: S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records, but narrow breadth highlights heavy concentration in chipmakers and the AI supply chain.
Nuclear: Big Tech’s nuclear power commitments strengthen the outlook for Japanese nuclear equipment suppliers and utilities pursuing reactor restarts.
HDDs: Seagate and Western Digital fell amid Toshiba’s planned capacity expansion and bidding competition for TDK’s magnetic-head business.

HK Strategy: Rate Hike Exposure – Fixed & Floating Rate Debt Analysis

By Osbert Tang, CFA

With the US$ rate likely to trend higher over the next 12 months, the Hang Seng Index (HSI INDEX) constituent stocks with high gearing will be exposed.
Hong Kong and China Gas (3 HK) and CLP (2 HK) are on top of the list, given their leveraged balance sheet and relatively high proportion of floating-rate debt.
Wharf Real Estate (1997 HK), Henderson Land Development (12 HK), and Sun Hung Kai Properties (16 HK) have lots of floating-rate debt, but their gearing levels are low.

Sohn Tokyo Preview: SILQ Capital’s Hideki Kinuhata on Japan’s Mid-Cap Mispricings, Why Liquidity Is

By Hedge Fund Alpha

The inaugural Sohn Tokyo conference is coming up on Oct. 16 at the Roppongi Hills Club.
One of the Tokyo-based managers looking forward to presenting at it is Hideki Kinuhata, founder and chief investment officer of SILQ Capital, a Japan fundamental equity long/short manager.
Hedge Fund Alpha caught up with him ahead of the conference to talk about his 24 years at Goldman Sachs, how SILQ builds its book, and where he sees the biggest mispricings in Japan today.

Singapore Market Roundup (06-Oct-2026): PhillipCapital rates AvePoint ‘accumulate’; Swaen warns

PhillipCapital has started coverage of AvePoint with an “accumulate” rating and a $20 target price, reflecting an 11.1% upside from its $18 closing price.
Analyst Helena Wang noted that AI errors can propagate quickly, emphasizing the importance of AvePoint’s backup software in minimizing disruptions.
Swaen Capital’s Kenny Tan sees the company’s Resilience suite, comprising 60% of ARR, as stable against AI disruption, depending mainly on user growth and competition with Microsoft 365.

AI Flow Industry Model : Tracking the Capex Flood and Revenue Streams – 6 October 2026

Our industry cash flow forecasts improved modestly, driven by revenue, but the buildout still burns cash through the end of the decade.
Adjusted 2030 free cash flow is -$59B, against -$106B in the version we published on September 21.
Revenue covers 0.94x of 2030 capex, up from 0.89x, and 0.77x on a cumulative basis, up from 0.71x.

Buffett Sherwood Foundation 2025 990 Filing: Revenue Climbs to $943 Million as Investment Portfolio

By Hedge Fund Alpha

The Sherwood Foundation is a private philanthropic organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, led by Susan Alice Buffett, the eldest daughter of Warren Buffett and the late Susan Thompson Buffett.
Buffett established the foundation in 1999, aiming to support organizations that are focused on improving the quality of life across Nebraska.
Special focus is set on grants that expand opportunities for “underserved communities”.

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Oct 06

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Hits a Record High and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Hits a Record High
Singapore Market Roundup (05-Oct-2026): RHB raises OCBC target price to $33.70 after Fed hike.
Semiconductor Chemicals: Four Listed Indian Companies, Two Different Markets
Episode 57: One Decision a Year To Outperform The S&P
AI Flow Index : Sailing a Sea of Companies in AI – 5 October 2026
AI Flow Newsletter : Monitoring The “Currents” Of AI – 5 October 2026

Ohayo Japan | Nasdaq Hits a Record High

U.S. equities: Nasdaq gained 1.0% to a record, S&P 500 rose 0.7%, while Nvidia hit an all-time high despite higher Treasury yields.
Schneider’s 42.3% premium for PTC could prompt investors to reassess valuations of Japanese companies with proprietary industrial software or automation assets
French fiscal and political concerns weighed heavily, sending the euro to a 17-month low against the dollar and widening French-German bond yield spreads.

Singapore Market Roundup (05-Oct-2026): RHB raises OCBC target price to $33.70 after Fed hike.

RHB boosts OCBC target price to $33.70 following Fed rate hike.
Citi cuts SGX target price and starts 90-day watch for P/E de-rating risks.
RHT Capital sets ISDN Holdings target price at 73 cents.

Semiconductor Chemicals: Four Listed Indian Companies, Two Different Markets

By Nimish Maheshwari

Aether Industries, Anupam Rasayan and Acutaas Chemicals are developing international chemical opportunities; Linde India is positioning around gas supply for India’s emerging manufacturing ecosystem.
Chemical suppliers can address established overseas demand before India’s new commercial fabs begin volume production.
Acutaas’ Korean operation and Anupam’s US acquisition also show that exporting molecules can evolve into manufacturing close to customers.

Episode 57: One Decision a Year To Outperform The S&P

By Marc Rudajev

Sometime in the early 2000s I was sitting in a ballroom at the CLSA conference in Hong Kong and Marc Faber, the author of the famed Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, took the stage to give a keynote. He said something that has never left me.
He told the room that if he had made only three decisions in his entire investing career (which started about 25 years prior), he would have beaten the returns he actually earned running money for a living.
Three decisions, once a decade, and peace of mind in Chiangmai (where Marc lives).

AI Flow Index : Sailing a Sea of Companies in AI – 5 October 2026

Semiconductors reclaimed the lead in September.
The WTR AI Index rose 3.0% M/M, above the S&P 500 (down 0.5%) and the Russell 2000 (down 5.4%) and in line with the Nasdaq (up 3.2%).
Semiconductors (20% of the index) jumped 14.5% and accounted for most of the index’s gain, while Software (23%) slipped 1.0%, Internet and Data Services (8%) rose 2.9%, Other Tech (23%) rose 2.6%, and Other Industries (26%) fell 0.9%.

AI Flow Newsletter : Monitoring The “Currents” Of AI – 5 October 2026

The WTR AI Flow Newsletter highlights recent developments in AI.
In the AI Flood Watch (Top 10 Format), we curate the month’s top AI news items, classify them as “Rising,” “Neutral” or “Falling,” and provide takeaways.
This issue features five Rising, two Neutral, and three Falling stories.

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Oct 05

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #14 | 27 Sep to 3 Oct 2026. and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #14 | 27 Sep to 3 Oct 2026.
Ohayo Japan | Weak Jobs Report Lifts Stocks
This Week in AI (Sep 27-Oct 3): OpenAI Drops Astra for Sol; Sonnet 5.5 Nears Opus at 1/2 the Price

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #14 | 27 Sep to 3 Oct 2026.

By Mo Aziz

Micron squarely beats: FQ4 net income was US$38.3bn (+33% QoQ, 10x YoY); FQ1 guidance of $61.5bn. Yet the stock finished flat. The debate has shifted from demand to supply.
Korea had its first down week after three gains: the market read Solidigm’s IPO as value leakage. Taiwan specialty rose 4–5%; Kioxia rose 3.8% after its 3-for-1 split.
Stay long Micron (TP $1,375) and add at ≤$975 on capex-led weakness. SK Hynix’s exit catalyst moves to Q3 results on 27 Oct. Samsung’s prelim (~7 Oct) is next.

Ohayo Japan | Weak Jobs Report Lifts Stocks

US stocks rose on Friday led by a tech rally after September payrolls showed the economy added just 29,000 jobs, far below the 90,000 expected
The weaker data prompted bond traders to pare odds of an October Fed rate hike down to 16% from 64% a week prior.
The Nasdaq (+1.2%) touched an intraday record high and secured a positive week, while the S&P 500 (+0.7%) posted weekly losses.

This Week in AI (Sep 27-Oct 3): OpenAI Drops Astra for Sol; Sonnet 5.5 Nears Opus at 1/2 the Price

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

OpenAI, Anthropic and Google released frontier models, while OpenAI cancelled GPT-6.1 Astra after safety tests and the FTC opened a probe into AI-agent safety.
Anthropic’s IPO prospectus showed Q2 revenue of USD 11.5bn, OpenAI sought at least USD 30bn at a USD 1.4tn valuation, and Meta launched an enterprise AI platform.
Amazon explored moving USD 8bn of Nvidia chips into a leaseback vehicle, AMD agreed to buy World Labs for USD 8.2bn, and Firmus priced its ASX IPO.

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Oct 04

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets
China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (28 Sep – 2 Oct)
Korea Sector ETFs Bi-Weekly #5: [18 Sept – 2 Oct 2026] Plus Solar & Ess ETF (Top Performer)
APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 4) – Hengrui, Hansoh, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Otsuka, Sun Pharma

The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets

By Anshul Trivedi

Yields above 5%, an AI-only earnings story, and the CPI print that decides November?
October and November 2026 are probably “As Good As It Gets”. Pushing higher requires exceptional, unlikely growth. Consequently, any disappointing results or unexpected shocks could trigger a sharp sell-off.
Bottom-Up, the AI complex accounts for more than half of expected earnings growth. The leaders are technically stretched. I would use any results-driven rally to recaliberate, not to chase

China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (28 Sep – 2 Oct)

By Wilfred Yuen

Strong deal flows this week: 1) Abogen/Novartis on autoimmune TCE and RNA platform; 2) Scibrunch/Merck on preclinical Kras G12D, 3) Hengrui/Novo on weekly oral GLP-1/GIP, 4) Nhwa/Newco on sleep disorder
Akeso’s partner Summit announced US$2bn investment from AstraZeneca and clinical collaborations for ivonescimab with CLDN18.2 ADC sone-ve and TROP-2 ADC Datroway
Other updates from Hansoh’s EU setback, Hutchmed’s US NDA filing, Frontier Biotech’s dual-targeting siRNA, Mindrank/3SBio deal, Beam vs. YolTech/Serapha…

Korea Sector ETFs Bi-Weekly #5: [18 Sept – 2 Oct 2026] Plus Solar & Ess ETF (Top Performer)

By Douglas Kim

The 30 key sector ETFs in Korea were down on average 0.5% in the past two weeks, underperforming KOSPI which was up 1.6% in the same period.
There were 10 sector ETFs (out of 30) that outperformed KOSPI in the past two weeks including Plus Solar & ESS ETF, Tiger Semiconductor Top10 ETF, and KODEX Bio ETF.
Semiconductor exports surged 262.8% YoY to a massive $60.3 billion in September.

APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 4) – Hengrui, Hansoh, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Otsuka, Sun Pharma

By Tina Banerjee

Hengrui outlicenses once-weekly oral obesity drug candidate HRS-1596, to Novo for total deal value of $2.6B. EC revoked the EU marketing authorization for Hansoh’s lung cancer drug aumolertinib.
Roche halts development of obesity drug candidate emugrobart and returns all rights to Chugai. Daiichi Sankyo has withdrawn the BLA seeking accelerated approval in the U.S. for I-DXd for ES-SCLC.
Otsuka initiates NDA submission to the FDA for zipalertinib for the treatment of NSCLC. Sun Pharma inlicenses hypercholesterolaemia and dyslipidaemia drug lerodalcibep from LIB Therapeutics.

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Oct 03

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price. and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price.
Japan Strategy Weekly | Chip Stocks Lift Nikkei

Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price.

UBS increases target price for Venture Corp.
uSMART upgrades Yeo Hiap Seng to ‘buy’, keeping target price at 64 cents.
Privium fund sees Multi-Chem benefiting from long-term digital transformation growth.

Japan Strategy Weekly | Chip Stocks Lift Nikkei

Nikkei gained 2.9%, led by AI-linked stocks, despite early oil and yield pressures and a 0.9% Topix decline.
Tankan strengthened rate-hike expectations, while Tokyo core inflation accelerated to 2.7%, above the BOJ’s target.
JGB yields hit 30-year highs as US yields remained elevated; yen weakness and fiscal policy stayed key market concerns.

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