Ernest Lim's investing blog

Unique insights into SGX small caps

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AEM enters bear market despite analysts’ positive calls. What gives? (20 Feb 22)

el15

Dear all AEM has fallen 21% from an intraday high of $5.37 on 14 Dec 2021 to close $4.25 on 18 Feb 2022. What has happened in the last two months to warrant such falls? Based on Bloomberg, average analyst target price is around $6.72, representing a potential capital upside of around 58%. Is this the bottom for AEM, or will it fall further? Personally, I think AEM is worth a closer look at $4.20 – 4.30 region. Let’s take a look at its investment merits and risks.   First things first, what does AEM do? According to its company […]

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 […]

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; […]

Singapore – Asia’s worst equity market YTD, any opportunities ahead? (29 Oct 20)

el15

Dear all It is less than a week from the U.S. election. U.S. markets are understandably jittery. S&P500 has fallen 316 points, or 8.9% from its intraday high of 3,550 on 12 Oct 2020 to touch an intraday low 3,234 on 30 Oct 20. In fact, S&P500 has tumbled 195 points or 5.6% this week. S&P500 closed at 3,270 on 30 Oct. The media has written extensively on the risks surrounding U.S. election since months ago hence the election event risk is hardly a new one. Examples of risks which media has written about is the possibility on contested election […]

S&P500 has rebounded 31% from 23 Mar 20! Time to buy, hold or sell (19 Apr 20)?

el15

S&P500 has staged a whopping 683 points, or 31% rebound from its intraday low of 2,192 to close 2,875 on 17 Apr 20. Many clients have asked me (almost daily) whether we have already seen the bottom and is this a good time to buy stocks etc. At 2,875, S&P500 is just 15% away from its record intraday high of 3,394 on 19 Feb 2020. The rally in Wall Street is at a stark contrast to grim news from Main Street in terms of job losses; significant number of deaths from Covid 19; lockdowns and poor corporate results. Both bull […]

ARA HTrust – most oversold stock in Singapore with 10% estimated div yield (5 Mar 2020)

el15

Dear all, Yesterday evening, as I run my stock screening via Bloomberg, ARA HTrust comes out to be the most oversold among Singapore listed stocks yesterday with a RSI of 8.2. This is its most oversold level since listing. ARA HTrust has tumbled approximately 22% from an intraday high of US$0.900 to close at US$0.705 yesterday, which is the lowest close since IPO. Why does it attract my attention? Read on for more.   A) Chart – Selling pressures may ease as oversold pressures escalate Based on Chart 1 below, ARA HTrust is entrenched in a downtrend. All the exponential […]

STI – to head towards 3,390 points in 1Q2020? (25 Dec 19)

el15

Merry Xmas! As we approach end 2019, most market strategists are putting their market estimates for end 2020. Although I do not profess to be in the league of these market strategists, just for fun, I am expecting STI to head towards 3,390 in 1Q2020. STI closed at 3,222 on 24 Dec 2019. I have outlined my basis and the risks involved.   Factors for my bullish basis a) Chart looks positive after bullish break Based on Chart 1 below, STI has staged a bullish break above its flag formation on 12 Dec 2019. Notwithstanding below average volume for the […]