Asia markets mixed as investors look to inflation data across the region

Portfolio manager Kamil Dimmich of North of South Capital says the word on the ground is that stocks in technology firm Nvidia are cheap – even as he may personally not think so.

Shares in Nvidia tripled this year as the company’s market valued topped $1 trillion over the optimism surrounding its artificial intelligence-powered applications.

Dimmich, who manages the $1.5 billion Pacific North of South Emerging Market All Cap Equity fund, says he is “always looking for great companies with strong cashflows that are not correctly reflected in the market.” His focus is identifying undervalued stocks in emerging markets.

What is his list of ‘great value’ companies to watch?

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— Amala Balakrishner

Goldman Sachs has forecast “healthy” growth in new lending at three major Indian banks over the next six months, which could lead to a significant upside for those stocks.

The Wall Street bank said Indian bank stocks have underperformed over the past three to six months despite a positive outlook for lending growth in the sector.

It named three lenders, that are expected to outperform the sector over the next 12 months, as “Top Buys”.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

The Dollar Index remained positive this morning after spiking to a high of $105.78, its highest level since March 8. For the week, the DXY is up 0.14%, on pace for its 10th weekly gain in a row.

— Yun Li, Nick Wells

A tough August and September can give way to a strong October for stocks, historical data shows.

The S&P 500 is on track to end September nearly 4% lower, extending losses after dropping 1.8% in August. But after the index has ended at least 1% lower in both August and September, it has finished October up nine of the past 10 times, according to Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group.

And the past three instances show sizable legs up. In 2022, October brought an 8% rally following the sides in the two prior months. October 2015 saw an 8.3% climb, while the index jumped 10.8% in October 2011.

“As bad as things feel, don’t lose faith just yet,” Detrick wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

— Alex Harring

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly noted that more data is still needed to determine whether the central bank needs to further tighten monetary policy.

“The thing that would be a problem is if we decided that we wanted to call it done we’d say we’re done, we say definitely one more, when we actually don’t know,” Daly said in an event. “Patience is a prudent strategy.”

— Fred Imbert

The latest surge in oil prices may have a lot further to run, according to JPMorgan.

Analyst Christyan Malek upgraded the entire global energy sector to an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, saying that an energy “supercycle” could eventually drive up Brent crude prices as high as $150 a barrel.

Read more on JPMorgan’s outlook for the oil industry here.

— Samantha Subin

The U.S. and Eurozone central banks are very close to being done with their hiking cycles, according to Citi, amid a stronger-than-expected U.S. economy and a weaker European economy. The bank has lowered its GDP outlook for the Eurozone accordingly.

“From a central bank cycle point of view, duration is attractive as rate hiking cycles are coming to a quick end. Valuation is also interesting, especially in the US,” analyst Dirk Willer said in a Thursday note.

“However, central banks have not been given the all clear yet, as either growth is still surprisingly strong (the US), or inflation surprisingly stubborn (EU, UK). And quickly rising oil prices are typically a strong headwind for duration,” he added.

The analyst remains long on the “cheap cyclical” Latin American market, while shorting the defensive U.K. market, which he believes should benefit from a weaker Pound.

— Hakyung Kim