Top Markets 1H 15: A Shares Surged To The Top

As we move into 2H 2015, we take a closer look at some of the top-performing markets for the first half of the year (China A, Russia and Japan) as well as those on the other side of the fence (Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia) to identify some of the key reasons for their either stellar or disappointing performance as well as our outlook for each market.

GOING FORWARD

In recent times, news of renewed Greek sovereign debt woes as well as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea continue to dominate financial headlines. With regards to the Greek debacle, we are of the opinion that a positive outcome or resolution is the most likely, given that it is in nobody’s interest should a “Grexit” materialises (investors interested to know more may view: Grexit: Will They Or Won’t They?). With regards to the MERS outbreak, we believe that there is no reason to panic, given the fact that MERS does not spread as easily as SARS. Recent stock price movements indicate that the market generally believes that domestic-orientated sectors will suffer greater negative impacts from the illness, but the impact on the overall South Korean equity market is unlikely to be significant. While the issue has clearly dampened investment sentiment, we advise investors to focus on the long term – valuations of Korean equities remain attractive at this current juncture as compared with other markets under our coverage.

With the above being mentioned, a continued disparity in valuations dictates that a more positive view on the Emerging Markets versus the developed markets is still warranted, and we are maintaining a 5.0 star rating on both Asia ex-Japan and Emerging Markets (particularly North Asia, where we expect the market to deliver strong returns over the next three years). With regards to the US and European equity markets, expected total returns are lower than where they previously were at this current juncture (as of 30 June 2015). We retain our 2.5 stars “Neutral” rating on both markets, and continue to monitor their valuations closely, advising investors to take profits along the way should the market as well as valuations continue to tread higher.

URL: http://www.fundsupermart.com.my/main/resea...?articleNo=6045

Portfolio IRR backs to 3.0%

Ponzi 2.0 is not a China fund. It's just heavy at China/HK.

CIMB GTF hits all time high yesterday: NAV @ 0.8359

Still long way to go since current NAV is just at 1.36XX

Because of its large exposure in China/HK. About 30%!

Equities Weekly: Sell Off In The Red Dragon Gets Everyone Talking [10 Jul 15]

Stock markets around the world as a whole were mixed over the week ended 10 July 2015, with the MSCI AC World Index declining -0.48%. While investment sentiment remains weighed down over the Greek situation, US equities remained in the positive territory, with the benchmark S&P 500 increased by 0.75% over the week. European equities, as represented by the Stoxx 600 index, rebounded 1.85% over the week, with the slight rebound in the EUR partially boosting returns. Japan's Nikkei 225 index however, declined -3.80% over the week.

Asian and emerging markets as a whole also incurred losses during the bouts of risk aversion seen last week. The MSCI Emerging Markets index decreased -3.34%, while the MSCI Asia ex Japan index decreased -3.89% over the week. While the local Chinese equity market has seen recent declines starting from the first week of June, panic and fear gripped the markets last week as local Chinese equities sold off on Tuesday and Thursday (7 and 8 July) – with the Shanghai Composite index and the Shenzhen CSI 300 index seeing hefty intraday declines in the ranges of between 5% to 8%! The panic has also spread to other equity markets, with the Chinese offshore market (represented by the HSML 100 index) selling off as well and ending the week -5.31% lower (see Meltdown In China-Town?). Other Asian markets like Taiwan and South Korea also saw declines, with their equity markets incurring losses of -5.44% and -4.04% respectively. Southeast Asian markets in general held up slightly better from the sell-offs seen in East Asian countries, with the Lion City, Malaysia and Thailand seeing their equity markets decline -2.11%, -1.08% and -0.93% respectively over the week.

Crude oil prices, as represented by WTI crude, fell -6.66% in MYR terms, closing with a price of USD 52.74 when the week ended.

URL: http://www.fundsupermart.com.my/main/resea...?articleNo=6052

1H 2015 Top And Bottom Equity Funds: China Funds Lead The Way

MARKET PERFORMANCE IN 1H 2015

Over the past 6 months, Mr. Market has been throwing its tantrum over issues such as the Greek debt deal, China’s accommodative monetary policies and the timing of the Fed rate hike, sending shockwaves through the global equity markets. This has resulted in volatile swings within the equity markets and market players have, since then, become relatively more cautious and sensitive in response to the development of these key events.

Global equities posted rather muted performance in 2Q 2015, with the MSCI AC World index up by merely 0.8% for the quarter. Within the developed market space, both the US and Europe registered tepid return of 0.8% over the quarter while the Japanese equity market delivered a decent return of 4.6% in the same period (partly owing to the depreciation of yen against the ringgit). Emerging Market (EM) and Asia ex-Japan regions, likewise, followed their developed counterparts, with the former delivering a 0.8% gain while the latter increasing marginally by 0.6%.

Elsewhere, onshore Chinese equity market (A-share) fared relatively well as compared to the markets under our coverage. The China-A shares posted a strong gain of 11.6% over the quarter on financial reforms and the PBOC’s aggressive rate cuts, albeit with much volatility due to the curbing of margin trading by the government officials. The central bank’s aggressive monetary decisions also contributed positively to the Chinese H-shares and the Hong Kong equity market, with these markets returning 4.9% and 6.5% respectively. Within the EM and Asia ex Japan regions, commodity-based economies such as Indonesia (-12.0%), Brazil (-10.4%), Australia (-5.3%) and Thailand (-2.7%) saw their equity markets in the red over the quarter on the back of weak commodity price.

CONCLUSION

Looking ahead, equity markets are likely to be in for more volatility with the uncertainty looming over the timing of the Fed rate hike. Nevertheless, we expect equity markets to fare better in a growth-centric environment as equity asset class tends to perform better in rising yields environment.

With the expectation of a weakening ringgit moving forward, we urge local investors to have exposure to foreign equity markets as investors are poised to gain from foreign currency translation aside from the benefit of geographical diversification and the potential equity returns of investing overseas. Investors can consider having an overweight position within the Asia ex-Japan region as they present more attractive investment opportunities as compared to their developed market counterparts.

URL: http://www.fundsupermart.com.my/main/resea...?articleNo=6053

CIMB GTF inches higher: 0.8406

China H-Share Analysts See 20% Gain on Valuations Rarely So Low

Chinese stocks in Hong Kong are poised to rally 20 percent by December after valuations fell close to the cheapest level in 12 years versus global equities.

That’s according to a Bloomberg survey of seven strategists, who have an average forecast of 14,114 for the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of so-called H shares. The gauge, valued at 1.2 times net assets, is 45 percent cheaper than the MSCI All-Country World Index. The gap is near the widest since 2003, as the attached chart shows, and compares with an average discount of just 13 percent during the past 14 years.

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/201...s-rarely-so-low

Nasdaq jumps to another record as Google surges

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, but posted solid gains for the week, as strong earnings boosted the Nasdaq to another record high. ( Tweet This )

"Today Google is certainly in the spotlight because it's having one of it's best days in the history of Wall Street," said Daniel Deming, managing director at KKM Financial. "It's amazing you're seeing this market being able to recoup once (bad news) is taken away. ... I think this has been a classic study in how the psychology of the market really has a big impact."

URL: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nasdaq-hits-...-133534042.html

CIMB GTF inched higher to 0.8457

Commodity Rout Extends Toward 13-Year Low as Gold Shunned on Fed

The rout in commodities deepened with prices heading for the lowest close since 2002 as the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates sent gold tumbling.

Raw materials are losing favor with investors as the dollar gains amid signals from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that the central bank may raise rates this year on the back of an improving U.S. economy. Higher borrowing costs curb the attractiveness of commodities such as gold, which doesn’t pay interest or give returns like assets including bonds and equities.



Gold tumbles to below USD 1110 per oz level!

Gold hits five-year low under $1,100 on Chinese selling

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices plunged as much as 4 percent to their lowest in more than five years on Monday as sellers in top consumer China offloaded the metal.

URL: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gold-tumbles...-022916369.html

Changes To Star Ratings For 2Q 15: Upgrading Japan & Initiating Chinese A-Share Coverage

At the end of each quarter, we review our calls on the various regional and single-country equity markets under our coverage to assess each market's attractiveness as an investment proposition both on a standalone basis, as well as with respect to other markets. In our quarterly star rating exercise, we look at key valuation metrics like PE and PB ratios, expected earnings growth, as well as excess earnings yield to determine how attractive a particular market is. In addition, we consider the economic outlook utilising both consensus forecasts, as well as our own assessment of longer-term economic prospects. Our methodology not only incorporates both top-down and bottom-up forecasts, but also includes qualitative adjustments where necessary to achieve reasonable estimates of target upside for each market under our coverage over a 3-year horizon. After reviewing our star ratings at the end of 2Q 15, we adjusted our ratings on the Japanese equity market as well as initiate ratings on the local Chinese equity market.

URL: http://www.fundsupermart.com.my/main/resea...?articleNo=6060

Sushi-land is being upgraded to 3.5

Maybe can demote their status or strip off the title.

CIMB GTF climbed higher to 0.8512

US market closed in RED with NASDAQ down 1% due to plunge of Apple shares.

With crude and gold price on the downward trend pressure, what do you expect?

Asian stocks are broadly lower and follows Wall Street last night performance.

Initiate a sell instruction for your CMF and set up the bank account info in your profile.