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Fund managers turn bullish on China stocks

In today’s top stories, fund managers turn bullish on China equities, analysts consider whether the Nasdaq’s one-day surge is a sign of a recovery and Elon Musk considers stepping down from Tesla. Meanwhile, Qualcomm launches an augmented reality platform and five recent IPOs in India see $18bn wiped out.

Musk considers stepping down from Tesla

Electric vehicle maker Tesla [TSLA] could see a change of leadership, with board member James Murdoch saying in a trial on Wednesday that Musk has hinted at considering a handover. Murdoch suggested that Musk, who has previously said Tesla has no succession plan, has identified a potential new CEO. Tesla shares fell 3.9% on Wednesday.

Fund titans buy China stocks

Franklin Templeton Investments and Eastspring Investments have joined bullish fund managers betting on Chinese stocks. Following a 24% rally for the MSCI China Index in November, Eastspring’s CIO in Singapore Bill Maldonado said Chinese equities had the worst “already priced in” and “plenty of upside.” A constructive meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping earlier this week further fuelled the surge.

Qualcomm's new AR platform

Qualcomm [QCOM] unveiled “the world’s first purpose-built headworn augmented reality platform” on Wednesday. Its Snapdragon AR2 augmented reality (AR) glasses are expected to “usher in a new era of spatial computing experiences”, according to the company’s press announcement. Partners including Lenovo [0992.HK] and Xiaomi [1810.HK] are developing products based on the platform, which Microsoft [MSFT] worked closely with Qualcomm to develop.

Is it time to return to tech stocks?

The Nasdaq composite posted its highest one-day surge since March 2020 last week at 7.35%, suggesting a rebound in tech stocks despite ongoing layoffs and headwinds. According to Citi, however, the Fed is “far from making a true policy pivot”, and it remains cautious. Analysts at BlackRock are cautious, too, and both firms suggest defensive plays, like cybersecurity, software or robotics, could perform better in a downturn than the industry at large.

IPO flops in India

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that five of India’s most high-profile IPOs of the last 16 months have flopped, losing more than $18 billion in combined market value. One 97 Communications [PAYTM.BO], the parent company of Paytm, saw the biggest losses of $12.8bn in market cap since listing, with Policybazaar [POLICYBZR.BO], Delhivery [DELHIVERY.BO], Zomato [ZOMATO.BO] and Nykaa [NYKAA.BO] also plunging.

Stock deconstruction

Ørsted’s [ORSTED.CO] share price is down 21.6% year-to-date, despite holding a 25% market share of offshore wind generation. Its Hornsea 2 wind farm, which commenced operations in the summer, is the world’s largest. Ørsted raised its profit outlook for the year in its recent third quarter earnings report, with EBITDA growing 313% year-over-year. The Danish energy group offers exposure to a wide range of clean energy solutions, including wind, solar and battery storage.

Episode 141 — Carolyn Weinberg on the democratising power of ETFs

Carolyn Weinberg, the global head of product for iShares and index investments at BlackRock, joined the Opto Sessions podcast for a conversation about some of the firm’s most innovative products, including floating rate and interest rate hedge to fixed income ETFs. She suggested ways to use these in your portfolio and spoke about why now is a very interesting time for fixed income.

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