Thematic (Sector/Industry)

• Semiconductor stocks retreated last week, with the SOXX ETF down 0.58%, underperforming the S&P 500 amid renewed tariff anxiety and fading near-term catalysts.
• Samsung’s $37B Texas fab faces execution delays, TSMC prioritises U.S. expansion over Japan, and the U.S. eased EDA software bans on China, signalling a brief pause in chip trade tensions.
• Investor behaviour reflected caution beneath resilience; despite stable technical indicators, SOXX saw $277M in net outflows, with hedged positioning dominating

• Japanese equities closed the week softer, with the Nikkei failing to retest the 40,000 level amid a confluence of macro headwinds. Persistent U.S. tariff concerns weighed on sentiment.
• Exporters and cyclicals bore the initial brunt, though stabilized late-week on U.S. tech resilience and FX tailwinds
• Sector rotation favoured semis and banks, while defensives underperformed. Factory automation names underperformed following Yaskawa’s downward earnings revision

• AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ New Zealand Energy (NZ CN)C: Equity raise – New Zealand will raise up to C$3 mm of new equity at a price of C$0.18 per share.
• This includes the settlement of outstanding loans of C$0.3 mm through the issue of ~1.7 mm shares.
• Valeura Energy (VLE CN)C; Target price of C$12.70 per share: Another strong quarter.

• Singapore stands out as a compelling market for income investing.
• Singapore has consistently offered superior dividend yields relative to its ASEAN peers and the broader MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index.
• Most global markets focus on capital appreciation. Singapore’s listed equities on the SGX (Singapore Exchange) have been favoured by investors seeking stable and rising income streams.

• S&P 500 +0.27% to 6,280; Nasdaq +0.09%; Dow +0.43% – all record highs
• Fast Retailing net profit rose 8% to ¥339bn (Sep–May), a four-year high; quarterly OP misses on China weakness
• Seven & i net profit jumped 2.3x to ¥49bn, boosted by Ito-Yokado asset sale, but core conbini sales declined

• Discussion with David Sparks about the challenges of investing in commodity players and natural resource companies for pod shops and multi strat funds like Citadel and Millennium
• David Sparks has experience working in multi strat hedge funds and now runs a discretionary strategy focusing on metals and mining at First New York
• Multi strat funds aim to optimize risk and returns by combining different investment strategies, requiring a unique approach for sectors like mining and energy due to their volatile nature.

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

• In FY25, India Inc. showed strong resilience despite global challenges, with a sharp earnings rebound in Q4 offsetting earlier softness. 
• A standout trend was the clear earnings outperformance of mid- and small-cap (SMID) companies, which led in 15 out of 19 sectors. 
• Sectors like consumer durables, capital goods, and chemicals led SMID gains, and their momentum is expected to sustain in FY26 amid steady capex and demand.

• While tariff headlines may dominate, accumulate the miners on weakness
• The positive Supply and Demand drivers for copper are  still intact
• Latest tariffs add to the continued inflationary pulse around the world

• Chip tester Teradyne jumping on reports it has a new FA arm.
• Intel admitting its now not even in the top-10 chipmakers anymore.
• Estee lauder strength may help Shiseido with better trends in Hainan reported.

• Nasdaq rose 0.9% to a record 20,611, led by Nvidia’s 1.6% gain and brief $4 trillion valuation milestone
• President Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, citing Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, escalating trade tensions ahead of the August 1 tariff implementation deadline.
• Oasis Management, a Hong Kong activist fund, acquired a 5.19% stake in Casio for 15 billion yen, aiming to enhance shareholder value

• KKR to sell a further 12.9% stake of Kokusai Elec, which sets the stage for big upside once dust settles.
• Home builders surging with mortgage applications at the highest levels since early 2023.
• Renewables up with AES and Bloom Energy posting big gains and JP names recently outperforming.

• Despite a 100-bps rate cut by RBI, banks face margin pressure as lending rates fall faster than deposit repricing. 
• Credit growth has slowed sharply, while deposit growth is improving unevenly – tightening liquidity conditions, especially for private banks and SFBs.
• Valuations remain attractive despite near-term earnings stress, supported by stable asset quality, treasury gains, and long-term confidence in sector fundamentals.

• Cerabyte has a stated vision of achieving $1 per petabyte per month, a cost reduction of 1000x within the next two decades. That’s a bold vision.
• Magnetic tape storage continues to play a crucial role in data centers and its technology continues to advance with the latest LTO-10 cassette announced by Fujifilm in June 2025
• Microsoft’s Project Silica, launched in 2019, appears to take a very similar approach albeit there are as yet no stated plans for commercialisation. 

• Since 2021, coffee prices have surged up to 300%, driven by supply disruptions in major producers like Brazil and Vietnam. Recent price corrections provides relief still volatility remains high. 
• The price fluctuations directly affect Indian coffee processors, with increased working capital requirements and lower PAT margin. Stabilizing prices can improve profitability and working capital cycles. 
• FMCG giants like Nestle and Tata Consumer Products faced margin pressures due to volatile coffee prices. While recent declines provide relief, continued price uncertainty requires adaptive strategies for cost management.

• The RBA threw a spanner in the markets’ almost universally anticipated -25bps rate cut, but both ASX200 and the AUD recovered to the previous day’s levels.
• The RBA will now cut in August, right?
• After a muted overnight session, with more Trump tariff rumblings on copper and pharmaceuticals, the ASX200 futures suggest a slightly softer start to Wednesday.

• Each week, I’ll share five intriguing investment ideas that recently caught my attention. These ideas are meant to spark your research and help you kickstart the week ahead with fresh insights.
• Because these ideas are the result of my first-level idea generation process, they require more in depth research. Therefore, the ideas will often be concise, with occasional references to valuable work from other practitioners that I encourage you to explore.
• If you have something fascinating to share that could benefit me and the wider community, don’t hesitate to send it my way—I’d love to hear from you!

• The WTR Consumer Stock Index trailed the Small Cap S&P 600 in 2Q, declining 2.4% versus the 1.1% gain in the broader index.
• The underperformance of our index was mostly due to a larger decline in prospective earnings, coupled with a lesser expansion in its prospective P/E ratio.
• Our index saw prospective earnings decline 7.2% in 2Q versus a 5.0% decline in the S&P 600, while its prospective P/E ratio expanded 0.8x in 2Q to 15.7x versus the 0.9x expansion to 15.3x in the S&P 600.

• The WTR Sustainable Index was up 0.5% W/W versus the S&P 500 Index (up 1.7%), the Russell 2000 Index (up 3.5%), and the Nasdaq Index (up 1.5%).
• Energy Technology (13.9% of the index) was up 6.8%, while Industrial Climate and Ag Technology (49.3% of the index) was up 2.7%, ClimateTech Mining was down 10.7%, and Advanced Transportation Solutions (20.9% of the index) was up 0.9%.
• Top 10 Performers: HCNWF, GWH, RUN, FLNC, LIS, STEM, FLUX, GRB, NRGV, AMTX

• The current EV charging infrastructure in the US remains inadequate and needs to grow rapidly to meet future demand.
• According to The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), U.S. will need 1.0 million Level 2 and 182,000 DC Fast charging points by 2030 to support the charging of electric vehicles.
• Based on the current growth rates, U.S. is likely to fall short of these numbers by 2030. The pace of growth needs to pick up rapidly.

• Trump announced a 50% tariff on copper, threatened 200% on pharmaceuticals, and said Europe faces tariffs soon, while urging Powell’s resignation.
• The Dow fell 0.4%. Copper futures surged over 10% on the news, while pharmaceutical stocks including Pfizer, Amgen, and AbbVie gave back earlier gains amid tariff concerns
• Welcia Holdings reported a 2.2-fold net profit increase to ¥6 billion and 10% sales growth to ¥334 billion for March-May 2025, driven by strong prescription and food sales

• In this note, we look at the latest May/June data, policy, and sentiment in China housing markets, with some reflections on where things are vs the expectations end of 2024. 
• “Less negative” summarises the data, while “Stabilise it” captures the policy approach.
• New home sales are in line with our forecast, and in the upper range of group forecasts from China Property Outlook, but there are some new data caveats.

• YTD, the share prices of the H-share IPOs of A-shares increased by an average of 30.2%, and the H-A discount narrowed by 14.8pp, but the range is wide.
• The growth outlook, as reflected by the 3-year EPS CAGR, is the key driver for the performance and reduction in H-A share discounts.
• Market cap, absolute PER multiples, and even relative PER ratios are not the major factors supporting their post-IPO performance.

• Meta taking a $3.5bn stake in Essilor Luxottica now gives them exposure to both Nikon and Paris Miki.
• Further positive broker rhetoric for power-semis should continues to lift Rohm, while WOLF gains positive for Renesas.
• Intel announcing plans to sell Mobileye stake may be seen as positive for foundry expansion plans.

• India has approved INR 1 lakh crore ($12.6 billion) for building military systems at home, focusing on self-reliance.
• This move boosts India’s defense strength with 193 defence contracts (92% domestic) already signed in FY25.
• India is combining local manufacturing with stronger global ties, especially with the U.S, to strengthen its defense capabilities.

• US stocks fell Monday as renewed tariff threats from President Trump rattled markets. The Dow dropped over 400 points, or nearly 1%
• Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea starting August 1, part of a broader escalation
• Nissan announced it will raise 150 billion yen through a Euroyen-denominated convertible bond issue, targeting overseas markets

• Trump extending the implementation deadline leaves plenty of wiggle room for further negotiation.
• Renesas should be helped by the Wolf’s new restructuring hire and TPX FFW buying this month.
• Samsung numbers weak with failed NVDA accreditation weighing on outlook.

• Progress on at least some trade deals (Vietnam) was seen as a positive in a holiday-shortened week of trading.
• The WTR Commercial/Contract Furniture Index gained 6.1%, the Residential Manufacturers & Suppliers Index was up 2.1%, and the Home Goods Retailers Index gained 7.0% as the broader market indices were up 1.7% and the R2K was up 3.6%.
• New home construction, on a per capita basis, in the US (and other anglophone countries) has effectively flatlined since the 1990s, leaving us with just as many dwelling units on a per capita basis as we had in the early 1990s, despite the fact that the total US population has increased by roughly 80 million (1).

• Three candidates remain for the purchase of dsm-firmenich’s Animal Health & Nutrition (AHN) division: private equity firms CVC and Apollo, and Dutch feed producer Nutreco.
• This is reported by Dutch financial daily FD, citing anonymous sources. This deal, which has an estimated value of approx.
• EUR 2.8bn, is among the largest Dutch transactions of the year, though the acquisition environment remains subdued.

• US markets reached record highs last week, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at all-time highs
• US President Trump has announced that letters will be sent to trade partners, including Japan, notifying them of impending tariffs
• Yaskawa Electric expects its operating profit for the fiscal year ending February 2026 to fall 14% year-on-year to ¥43 billion, reversing its earlier forecast of a 20% gain

• Shionogi applied for indication expansion of its oral COVID-19 drug for pediatric patients. Simcere Pharmaceutical received approval of Enzeshu for the treatment of ovarian cancer in China.
• WuXi XDC has completed its manufacturing site in Singapore. The site to commence operation this year. Sino Biopharma got marketing approval in China for its inhouse congenital hemophilia drug Anqixin.
• Apollo Hospitals is demerging its omni-channel pharmacy and digital health business. Torrent Pharmaceuticals is acquiring controlling stake in J. B. Chemicals at an equity valuation of INR 257B.

• SEBI has cracked down on Jane Street Group, a global trading giant, for manipulating the BANKNIFTY index during expiry days using coordinated cash and F&O trades.  
• The Group allegedly pushed up prices in morning sessions to create misleading signals, and then profited massively by taking opposite positions in options.  
• SEBI estimates illegal gains of INR 43,289 crore in Index Options over a two-year period, primarily through this strategy.

• Japanese equities reversed early gains to close lower on the week (Nikkei -0.8%, Topix -0.4%) after breaching the 40,000 level on Monday
• Trade friction is re-emerging as a key geopolitical overhang ahead of the July 9 tariff deadline
• Yaskawa’s profit guidance cut (FY26 OP -14% YoY to ¥43bn vs prior +20%) signals subdued industrial capex ahead, with tariff policy weighing on visibility in FA demand

• RBI’s latest report shows India’s consumption growth is increasingly driven by the wealthy, using more credit, while lower-income groups show stress.
• This K-shaped recovery raises concerns about inclusive growth, as benefits are concentrated, limiting broad-based economic stability and job creation.
• While overall growth may appear strong, the uneven distribution of consumption highlights the need for policies promoting broader financial access for sustainable development.

• Chariot (CHAR LN)C; Under review: Potential demerger – The management of Chariot is considering splitting the company in two entities, one focusing on upstream oil and gas and the other on renewable power.
• The latter will also house the hydrogen and water assets.
• Pending further details, we are placing the company under review.

• Once driven by domestic infrastructure and shipbuilding, Japan’s steel industry is now navigating aging demand and declining consumption by pivoting to exports and specialty steel.
• Japanese steelmakers are embracing high-grade flat steel exports, electric arc furnace (EAF) transitions, and decarbonization-linked innovation — while deepening select offshore bets like AM/NS India and JSW Steel.
• JFE offers deep value via JSW exposure; Kobe adds margin stability through EAF and engineering, while Nippon faces capex strain and U.S. Steel integration risk.

• U.S. stocks rose, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting records after strong jobs data boosted confidence in economic resilience.
• The Japan Semiconductor Equipment Association (SEAJ) forecasts Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will rise 2% to 4.9 trillion yen in FY2025
• Daikin Industries plans to increase global air conditioner production by 11% to 9.64 million units in FY2025

• Shiseido: Weak sales in China and Travel Retail hurt performance, but cost-cutting and deep-value appeal raise potential for turnaround or takeover.  
• Ricoh: Effissimo bets on Ricoh’s slow pivot to digital services; low valuation offers downside protection despite unclear timeline for ROE recovery.
• Orico: Strategic Capital targets Mizuho affiliate for underperformance and insider-led governance, pushing for reform and better capital discipline.

• Coreweave rolling out NVDA’s Blackwell Ultra GB300 may help the likes of Ibiden and Advantest.
• Intel moving away from in-house glass substrate production may see the likes of AGC pick up new demand.
• Trade deal deadline looms with Japan still playing it ‘tough’, and with momo up defense may rise.

• Discussion on IperionX a titanium tech play mining adjacent company, and TNR Gold with royalty activist drama on Twitter
• Introduction of Hank Rule from Sierra Morena Capital to explore US insight on mining sector
• Analysis of the escalating bidding war between Kinterra and CAML for New World, with Kinterra matching CAML’s offer, signaling price discipline and potential for further escalation.

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

• More than 130 Albert Heijn franchisees, operating nearly 300 stores, have reached a settlement with supermarket chain Albert Heijn after over a decade-long legal dispute.
• The core issue was the franchisees’ claim that Albert Heijn retained too many financial benefits, including purchasing bonuses and online sales profits from AH.nl, without fair distribution.
• In 2014, the franchisees initiated legal proceedings, claiming EUR 200m after failed negotiations. 

• S&P hit a record as Trump’s Vietnam deal lifted sentiment, despite weak jobs data raising Fed rate cut speculation; Nike rose 4% on Vietnam exposure.
• Microsoft will lay off 9,000 employees—under 4% of its workforce—as part of a reorganization to streamline management and focus on strategic growth areas.
• Fast Retailing’s UNIQLO domestic same-store sales rose 6% in June, driven by summer apparel demand, though unit price per customer dipped 1% on calendar effects.

• Oracle order for millions of homes worth of power consumption sends DC and server related higher.
• Power semis also up as analysts continue to take a more constructive view.
• Gaming names may bounce after yesterdays dip given they are seen as ‘tariff proof’ ahead of deadline.

• China’s steel industry faces significant oversupply and weak domestic demand, driving aggressive exports and financial losses amidst rising global trade barriers
• India’s steel growth remains robust, driven by domestic demand, government support, product diversification, cost control, and ESG focus
• Indian steelmakers note easing import pressure, leveraging quality norms and value-added products, expanding capacity, with JSW Steel Ltd (JSTL IN) targeting 50 MT by 2030 from 27 MT currently.

• We think the US DC market is on a transformational path – the growth of AI workloads creating huge demand that significantly outpaced supply
• AI data centers are highly unique, combining with supply constraints has resulted in record low vacancy rate and rental growth across key markets
• We think Equinix is well positioned to capture this huge opportunity.  EQIX also collaborated with AI leaders like NVDA which gives it a competitive edge