Asia Equities Portfolio Manager on broadening cyclicality and value plays (with Yvonne Man, April Hong)

Julie Ho is constructive on the second half, citing a broadening of global cyclicality beyond just tech/AI into non-tech exports and tangential sectors like grid infrastructure and factory automation. She sees value in beaten-down Chinese exporters, Hong Kong financials, and regional telcos as defensive plays. She argues the historical negative correlation between a strong USD and Asian markets has broken due to Asia's shift to higher-value exports.

Yields

implicit

Oil

Metals

implicit

JPMorgan 9.2
Investment Bank $3170.00B
Julie Ho 9.0

Asia Equities Portfolio Manager on broadening cyclicality and value plays (with Yvonne Man, April Hong)

dxy

She argues the historical negative correlation between a strong USD and Asian markets has broken, implying she does not see a strong directional move in the dollar as a primary driver for her thesis.

ndx

She is constructive on the second half, citing broadening cyclicality and AI fundamentals surpassing expectations, but her focus on value and income suggests a cautious, not aggressive, bullishness on tech-heavy indices.

rut

Her thesis of broadening cyclicality into non-tech exports and value sectors like machinery, appliances, and Hong Kong financials directly supports a positive view on small-cap and value-oriented indices like the Russell 2000.

Yvonne Man

Asks Julie Ho if the strong quarterly performance for global stocks can continue into the second half.
Julie Ho

She is constructive on the second half because AI fundamentals are surpassing expectations and, more importantly, she sees a broadening of global cyclicality beyond just tech, which gives her a wider selection of stocks as a value-income investor.
April Hong

Asks which sectors will outperform in this rotation.
Julie Ho

She is excited about AI-tangential areas like grid infrastructure and factory automation, which are catalyzing CapEx. She also sees value in beaten-down Chinese exporters (machinery, appliances) trading at 10x PE, and Hong Kong financials as dividend plays.
April Hong

Asks about defensive plays and the role of healthcare/biotech.
Julie Ho

She prefers defensive plays outside of China, specifically regional telcos, which are a consolidation play monetizing higher data usage. She considers beaten-down Chinese names more as value plays than defensives.
April Hong

Asks how Asian currencies factor into her thesis, given the weak yen and potential for further weakness.
Julie Ho

She argues the historical correlation between a strong USD and weak Asian markets has broken because Asia is now exporting more high-value-add goods with pricing power. She still thinks Asian currencies are cheap but wouldn't draw the same negative correlation as in the past.
Yvonne Man

Asks about the opportunity cost of rotating into value/income plays given the strong performance of memory stocks.
Julie Ho

She believes reasonable valuations can still be found, particularly in the Taiwan logic semiconductor value chain, as long as earnings are sustainable in a 'higher for longer' environment.

SignalTube

markets at a glance