Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

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Margin account – why I started using margin account last couple of months (12 Dec 23)

el15

Dear all With reference to my market write-ugp dated 23 Oct (click HERE), where I mentioned that I was buying on dips and was judiciously using leverage via my newly open margin account to accumulate stocks, S&P500 has rallied 8.6%. However, STI is still languishing at almost similar level vs my write-up. Post my write-up, some readers and clients have enquired on the margin account. Hence, I have done a short write-up on margin financing. What is margin financing? What are the things we should be aware of? Read on for more below.   A) What is margin financing? Margin […]

U.S & European stocks logged their largest weekly falls for 2023. What’s next for the equity markets? (26 Feb 23)

el15

Dear all With reference to my writeup published on 30 Jan 2023 (click HERE), where I mentioned I would be cautious in the overall markets, especially after a sharp run up, US stocks have dropped consecutively for the in the past three weeks. Dow has fallen consecutively for the past three weeks and logged its sharpest 1,010 points or 3.0% last week.   So, what is next for our markets? Do we buy, hold or sell? Just to highlight, the below is a sample of a brief stock alert or / and observation which I typically send to my clients […]

3 stocks, Comfort Delgro, Thai Bev and Wilmar trade at attractive valuations (11 Oct 22)

el15

Dear all Yesterday, Comfort Delgro, Thai Bev and Wilmar closed at $1.25; $0.565 and $3.64 respectively. Personally, they look interesting on several aspects. At $1.25, Comfort Delgro trades at levels last seen in 2011 and 2009! At $0.565, Thai Bev sits on a long term uptrend line established since 2009! At $3.64, Wilmar trades at approximately 2.2x and 3.0x standard deviations below its 10Y average PE and P/BV of around 13.8x and 1.1x respectively! Read on for more.   *Comfort Delgro* I have previously published a write-up on Comfort Delgro. Readers can refer to my write-up HERE for more information […]

Markets may continue to be volatile but also present valuable opportunities ahead (6 Mar 2022)

el15

Dear all We are two months into 2022. How is your portfolio doing? With reference to my writeup (click HERE) published on 17 Feb 2022, I mentioned that STI is likely to face headwinds in the near-term and SG banks’ share prices are likely to peak around 7-18 Feb based on past observations.   Coincidentally a) STI peaked on 17 Feb. In fact, STI has tumbled 6.9%, or 239 pts from its intraday high 3,466 on 17 Feb to close 3,227on 4 Mar. Last Friday’s intraday low was 3,208. More about its chart below. b) Banks – DBS peaked on […]

STI is up 10.1% YTD; may face profit taking in the near-term (16 Feb 2022)

el15

Dear all STI has been on a tear since the start of the year. With reference to my write-up published on 5 Jan 2022 (click HERE) citing that Asian indices are likely to outperform that of the U.S. market in 2022, STI has indeed notched strong year to date (“YTD”) gains of 10.1% to close 3,439 on 16 Feb 2022. This outperformance is especially stark if we compare it to S&P500’s -6.1% YTD returns. As I have shared with Lianhe Zaobao on 9 Feb 2022, I personally feel that our STI is overbought in the near term with several near-term […]

STI – having closed at a record YTD high, will it continue higher? (7 Nov 2021)

el15

Dear all With reference to my market outlook published on 3 Oct (see HERE) citing opportunities in our Singapore market, STI has soared 191 points, or 6.3% from 3,051 on 1 Oct to close at a year to date high 3,242 on 5 Nov. Will STI continue to march higher, or will there be some profit taking?   Very briefly, my personal view is It is likely that STI may face some profit taking in the near term, attributable in part to the following factors: a) With reference to Figure 1 below, MSCI Singapore index will undergo a rebalancing in […]

Wilmar – Is this a good time to accumulate? (2 Sep 2020)

el15

Wilmar recently caught my attention. It has fallen approximately 11% from an intraday high of $4.95 on 7 Aug 2020 to close $4.41 on 1 Sep 2020. Six points attracted me to Wilmar. Let’s take a look. 1. Imminent catalyst i.e YKA IPO – left one approval to go Wilmar cited that its Chinese subsidiary, Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co., Ltd (“YKA”), has obtained listing clearance from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (“SZSE”) ChiNext Board Listing Committee (the “Committee”) and has submitted the updated prospectus to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) for final registration approval for listing on SZSE ChiNext Board […]

HK listed China banks to report results this week – potential trading opportunities? (23 Mar 18)

el15

With reference to my earlier write-up (click HERE), besides SGX listed stocks, clients and readers can consider to take a look at some of the China banks listed on HK stock exchange. They may be interesting due to their upcoming results which may present some potential trading opportunities, especially when some of them have fallen 13-14% from their recent highs on 29 Jan 2018.   Why do I choose HK listed China banks, instead of our local banks for potential trading opportunities? 1. On a macro picture, Hang Seng seems to be slightly stronger than STI based on chart. For […]

DBS – hits 52-week high, all-time overbought since 1991! (1 Dec 16)

el15

DBS hit another 52-week high today. It has surged 19% from an intraday low of $14.97 on 9 Nov 2016 to $17.82 on 1 Dec 2016. This has significantly outperformed the STI by a mile, as STI was only higher by 6.0% over the same period.   What has caused the sharp rally in DBS? Some of the possible reasons may be 1. Since Donald Trump’s victory, the market has repriced in faster inflation in the U.S. due to Mr Trump’s infrastructure pledge. This has caused a surge in US Dollar and bond yields, especially on longer-dated debt. This bodes […]