Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

S&P

Markets – diverging signs from technicals and fundamentals. What should we do? (4 Apr 2022)

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Dear all March has been a roller coaster month. Hong Kong market, represented by Hang Seng index touched multi-year lows around 14-15 Mar and has rebounded approximately 21% from the intraday lows. S&P500 performed well too with a third consecutive weekly rise. With reference to my writeup (click HERE) published on 6 Mar 2022, I mentioned that a) Odds are likely of a downward push first I mentioned that based on chart, odds are higher for a downwards move for both S&P500 and STI, to retest the previous support around 4,115 – 4,222 and 3,138 – 3,200 (with 3,175 a […]

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 […]

GSS Energy – Electric mobility business takes shape (25 Jan 22)

el15

Dear all, 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, our Asian indices, viz. Hang Seng and STI have outperformed the U.S. market significantly (See Table 1 below). U.S. S&P500 notched a 6.4% decline whereas Hang Seng and STI registered a 9.0% and 4.2% gain respectively since my write-up. Table 1: S&P500, Hang Seng and STI 2021 performance since 5 Jan 2022 Source: Ernest’s compilation Given the outperformance, are there still pockets of opportunities in our Singapore market? The short answer […]

Will Singapore stocks outperform U.S. stocks in 2022? (5 Jan 2022)

el15

Dear all With reference to my market outlook published on 7 Nov (see HERE) citing our Singapore market may face near term profit taking, STI dropped 201 points, or 6.6% from 3,242 on 5 Nov to close at 3,041 on 30 Nov. As we start 2022, various investment banks and research houses have put forth their views on how the various markets will perform. In this write-up, I will share how the markets have performed in 2021 and my market outlook in 2022.   How did the markets perform in 2021? Based on Table 1 below, it is evident that […]

STI at 3,051 – Presents some attractive opportunities (3 Oct 2021)

el15

Dear all With reference to my market outlook published on National Day (see HERE), both STI and Hang Seng have hit their highs on 10 Aug and 11 Aug respectively before dipping. Based on Table 1 below, S&P500, Hang Seng and STI have fallen 1.8%, 6.1% and 4.0% respectively since my writeup. Table 1: Indices’ performance since my last writeup Source: Ernest’s compilations Amid the recent weakness, you may be wondering whether it is a good time to accumulate on weakness. Before we get to this, let’s take a look at the indices’ charts.   S&P500 closed 4,357 Based on […]

2 interesting charts to take note: Comfort Delgro & Q&M Dental (22 Sep 2021)

el15

Dear all With reference to my market outlook published on National Day (see HERE), markets have broadly declined, in line with my expectations, with STI and Hang Seng touching their highs on 10 Aug and 11 Aug respectively before dipping. Amid the recent weakness, two stock charts, namely Comfort Delgro and Q&M Dental catch my attention. Let’s take a look.   Comfort Delgro Based on Chart 1 below, Comfort Delgro has retreated to the low last seen in Nov 2020. It is currently at $1.51 and is testing an important support around $1.50-1.51 for the past three days (inclusive today). […]

S&P500 closed at record high! What should we do? Buy or sell? (9 Aug 2021)

el15

Dear all S&P500 has clocked its sixth consecutive month of gains in July 2021. This is the longest stretch since 2018. Furthermore, S&P500 has touched a record high to close at 4,437 on 6 Aug 2021. In the next 3 months, are markets poised for higher highs? Or should we be prudent and take some profit off the table first? Let’s take a look.   Ernest’s personal market observations a) Lack of catalysts to push the market higher Since Covid last year, markets, especially U.S. markets, have been able to push higher due partly to the combination of ultra-easy monetary policies; […]

STI – Will it head for new YTD high after S&P500 clocked its 7th consecutive day of rally? (6 Jul 2021)

el15

Dear all S&P500 and Nasdaq clinch fresh record highs last Friday with S&P500 clocking in seven consecutive days of gains in its longest winning streak since August 2020. Despite the roaring U.S. markets, Singapore Straits Times Index (“STI”) has slipped almost 100 points from its 2021 intraday high of 3,237 on 30 Apr 2021 to close 3,141 on 5 Jul 2021. Can STI exceed 3,237 for 2HFY2021? Most strategists believe so, as their year-end targets for STI are easily above 3,237. Let’s look at the possible reasons why analysts are positive on our Singapore market.   Reasons to be optimistic […]

Markets are “bubblish”, or aren’t they? (5 Apr 2021)

el15

Dear all Markets have been on a tear for the past five months. Since my write-up published on 1 Nov 2020, citing opportunities in our Singapore market (click HERE for the write-up), STI has soared 786 points, or 32.4% from 2,424 on 30 Oct 2020 to close 3,210 on 5 Apr 2021 (intra-day high today was 3,212). At the time of writing this, S&P500 futures are trading at 4,040, translating to around 24% gain over the same period. In fact, STI is the 2nd best performing market for 1Q2021 amongst 18 global benchmarks. Are markets in the midst of a […]