Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

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S&P500 has slumped 13.7% in Dec, largest percentage fall since 1931! Has the bull market ended? (23 Dec 18)

el15

Dear all After hitting an intra-day high of 2,941 on 21 Sep 2018, S&P500 has tumbled 17.9% or 525 points to close 2,416 on 21 Dec 2018. In fact, S&P500 has just logged the worst monthly performance in Dec since 1931! Dow has also fallen 3,535 points from the intraday high of 25,980 on 3 Dec 2018 and 4,507 points from the intraday high of 26,952 on 3 Oct 2018. What is happening? Is Armageddon coming?   Most things have not changed since 21 Sep, except for… In Sep, when S&P500 hit 2,940, the usual concerns were also there, namely […]

STI has dropped almost 17% since 2 May! Is a bear market coming? (14 Oct 18)

el15

Dear all, U.S. equity markets have logged their worst weekly performance in the past six months. For our local market, STI has dropped 16.7% from an intra-day high of 3,642 on 2 May 2018 to an intra-day low of 3,035 on 11 Oct 2018. It closed at 3,069 on 12 Oct 2018. Is a bear market coming? There are mixed views. Bears are saying that we have not reached the bottom yet. Some perma-bears are even saying this may be the start of the bear market. Bulls are saying that this represents a window of opportunity to accumulate stocks on […]

Best World – potential bullish double bottom formation in the making? (19 Sep 18)

el15

This week, Best World has caught my attention. Why is it interesting? a) Chart seems to be in the midst of a double bottom formation Best World has fallen 29% from an intraday high of $1.90 on 19 Mar 2018 to close $1.35 on 19 Sep 2018. It has been trading in a range $1.20 – 1.39 since 15 May 2018. Indicators are mixed with MACD and RSI exhibiting bullish divergences during this period. Except for 200D EMA which is levelling, all other EMAs are rising. 20D has already formed a golden cross formation with 50D EMA. Best World has […]

S&P500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 hit records, time to switch to underperforming markets? (24 Aug 18)

el15

Dear all, S&P500, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 hit records last Friday with S&P500 closing at 2,875. However, our STI has dropped 11.8% after hitting a decade high of 3,642 on 2 May 2018. Hang Seng has also tumbled 17.4% after hitting a high of 33,484 on 29 Jan 2018. Is this the time to switch out of the U.S. markets and plough it back to STI and Hang Seng? This seems to be the question on most investors’ minds as I am also posed this question during a live interview on Money FM89.3 on last Thursday. Let’s take a closer […]

Singtel hits multi-year low and all time oversold since 2000! (3 Jul 2018)

el15

Singtel closed -$0.03 to $3.02, the lowest close since Jun 2012. Based on Bloomberg, it is trading at approximately 5.9% estimated div yield. Ave analyst target is around $3.92. Hence total potential upside is around 35.7%. What has happened to Singtel which hit multi-year lows despite analysts’ buy calls? Is this a buying opportunity? Or is it a falling knife?   Singtel – takeaways from some analyst reports The recent weakness in Singtel may be attributed to its challenging industry, especially when the industry faces new entrants in both Singapore and Australia. Although Singtel may lack near term catalysts, based […]

EC World Reit – potential strong growth ahead (29 Jun 18)

el15

Dear all, Reits are clearly not in our investors’ favour as evidenced by the 10.2% fall in FTSE Reit index (FSTAS8670.IN), which closed 786 on 29 Jun 2018, after hitting a multi-year high of 875 in Jan 2018. Most analysts or strategists will recommend reits with distribution per unit (“DPU”) growth, so as to combat the rise in interest rates. EC World Reit (“EC”) may be one with DPU growth. I have the privilege of meeting Mr Goh Toh Sim, Executive Director & CEO of EC and Mr Li Jinbo, Head of Investment of EC (“Management”) for a 1-1 discussion […]

STI – down 9.4% since 2 May. Correction coming, or buying opportunity? (19 Jun 18)

el15

With reference to my market outlook HERE posted on 11 May 2018, I mentioned at that time that I  have started to sell into strength, as I am cautious on the overall market. I updated on 30 May 2018 (click HERE) that STI is likely to trade sideways with downward bias. Separately, my clients would have been notified on 12 Jun 2018 morning that I have already reduced my percentage invested to approximately 40% as I believe market is likely to trend downwards in the next couple of weeks. In the span of four trading days, STI has dropped 148 […]

STI slumps 198 points after hitting a decade high of 3,642 on 2 May! (30 May 18)

el15

With reference to my market outlook HERE posted on 11 May 2018, I mentioned at that time that I have started to sell into strength, as I am cautious on the overall market. Clients would have been aware / notified that I have already reduced my percentage invested to <60% early last week. STI has since dropped 126 points from 3,570 on 11 May 2018 to close 3,444 on 30 May 2018. For those who wish to accumulate on weakness, I have compiled a list of stocks here, using Bloomberg’s data as of 30 May 2018. The criteria for compilation […]

STI notched a ten year high on 2 May – is it a screaming buy for all SG stocks (11 May 18)

el15

Dear all, Dow has logged a seventh consecutive rise and small caps as measured by S&P600 index have just closed at a record high as of 11 May 2018. Our Singapore market has also done us proud too by becoming Asia’s best performing equity market on 2 May 2018. In view of the above, is it a screaming buy for our Singapore market, especially our small caps which have under-performed? Let’s take a closer look at the charts and my personal action plan.   S&P500 closed 2,728. Day range 2,717 – 2,733 Based on Chart 1 below, S&P500 seems to […]

REC Insights Part 1 of 3: Prime Property at near Mass Market Prices? (26 Apr 18)

el15

REC Insights is a 3 part series hopes to provide insights to investors looking for opportunities in the Singapore Property Market. These insights will be accompanied with detailed, straight to the point analysis. These insights are purely my personal opinion only and do not constitute any investment advice. In the previous article “5 things you must know before your next property investment” (Click HERE), I discussed about higher vacancy rates, rising interest rates and a potential oversupply situation from 2021 onwards. In addition to the previous discussed points, many Singaporeans would say that salary has not risen, or has not […]