Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

Nasdaq

S&P500 hits the highest last seen in Aug 2022! Should we buy, hold or sell? (3 Jun 23)

el15

Dear all First of all, apologies for the hiatus in posting new market outlook on my blog. I have been extremely busy for the past three months. My clients can attest to how busy I have been. I have been sending out my market views and news even on weekends and on public holidays. 😊 With reference to my previous writeup published on 26 Feb 2023 (click HERE), I mentioned that I planned to pare positions so that I can accumulate on weakness. In retrospect, it was a timely call. I was fortunate that I have pared my positions so […]

Nasdaq has soared 14% in 1 month! Should we chase this rally? (30 Jan 23)

el15

Dear all It has been a busy January. As you are aware, I have kept my powder dry by taking it slow and easy in Dec and have taken some opportunistic positions amid the sell-off in Dec. Just to recap, with reference to my writeup published on 3 Dec (click HERE), where I mentioned that I am taking it slow and easy in Dec, S&P500 and STI fell by 5.9% and 1.2% respectively in Dec. In fact, S&P500 registered the worst Dec performance in four years. However, Hang Seng was still very resilient and jumped 6.4% in Dec on continual […]

Markets – possible technical rebound in the near term but likely short lived (26 May 2022)

el15

Dear all I have been extremely busy with work, hence the dearth of articles on my blog. Dow has closed lower for the eighth consecutive week. This marks the longest period of consecutive weekly losses since 1923! S&P500 has registered a seventh week of losses, its longest weekly losing streak since March 2001. Are the markets going to drop into an abyss? Or has the bottom been reached? Before we delve into this, let’s recap on my earlier market outlook article dated 4 Apr 22 (click HERE). Previously, I wrote that I am more inclined towards the bearish / prudent […]

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 […]

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 […]

Recent weakness provides accumulation opportunities (9 Sep 20)

el15

Dear all Based on Table 1 below, U.S. indices have fallen between 5.5% – 10% from the close of 2 Sep to 8 Sep. Nasdaq led the decline with a 10% drop. These are interesting times indeed! Why do I say so? Read on below. Table 1: Performance of various indices from 2 Sep to *8 Sep 20 Source: Ernest’s compilations (*STI and Hang Seng are based on 9 Sep closing prices) In my personal opinion, this recent U.S. market weakness provides accumulation opportunities for the well prepared and for those who have been waiting on the side-lines to accumulate […]

Stocks sorted by total potential return (7 Sep 2020)

el15

Dear all U.S. markets have fallen sharply with Nasdaq dropping almost 1,200 points or 10% from an intraday high of 12,074 on 2 Sep to an intraday low of 10,876 last Fri. For example, Apple Inc. has lost $219b in market cap from the close of 1 Sep through 3 Sep which is larger than the market cap of Exxon Mobil Corp., for long the world’s largest company! In view of the recent decline, some clients have asked me which are the stocks that they can look at. Below is my compilation of the top ten stocks and the bottom […]

Nasdaq – potential bearish head and shoulders formation in the making? (29 Sep 19)

el15

With reference to my earlier write-up (click HERE) titled “S&P500 at 2,979 – limited potential upside (8 Sep 19)”, S&P500 touched intraday highs of 3,021 – 3,022 on 12 Sep 2019 and 19 Sep 2019 but it was still lower than the record intraday high of 3,028 on 26 July 2019. S&P500 closed at 2,962 on 27 Sep 2019. Hang Seng and STI touch one-month intraday highs on 13 Sep 2019 before profit taking sets in. October is likely a volatile month ahead given (just to cite a few examples) more news on trade talks (e.g. U.S vs China; U.S. […]

S&P500 at 2,979 – limited potential upside (8 Sep 19)

el15

With reference to my earlier write-up (click HERE) titled “Why am I cautious going into July…”, July was coincidentally the peak for S&P500. Hang Seng touched an intraday high of 29,008 on 4 Jul 2019 before slumping 4,108 points to an intraday low of 24,900 on 15 Aug 2019 (Hang Seng closed at 26,691 on 6 Sep 2019.) Personally, given the current market levels and information, I am not comfortable to raise my current percentage invested from 53% to significant levels (say >80%). Why am I cautious in the market? Do read on…   Factors supporting my cautious basis Above […]

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 […]