Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insightsGood afternoon, and a warm welcome to HotCopper’s Market Close for Thursday, October 2. I’m Isaac McIntyre, covering for Jonathon Davidson as he celebrates his birthday – let’s get into how the ASX trading day’s played out.Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.The big story here is, of course, just how much the local bour ...

Goodman Group (Sonic Healthcare Ltd (GMG share price in focusThe ASX:GMG ) share price has decreased 8.3% since the start of 2025. Meanwhile, the ASX:SHL ) share price is 27.8% away from its 52-week high.Founded in 1989, Goodman Group is a leading global property group that owns, develops, and manages real estate assets across multiple continents.As the largest ASX-listed property group, Goodman operates in key markets including Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, the US, and Brazil.The company focuses p ...

Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The conference call primarily discusses the **Chinese economy** and its various sectors, including **fixed asset investment (FAI)**, **industrial production**, **retail sales**, and the **property market**. Core Insights and Arguments 1. **Growth Momentum Weakening**: - Domestic activity weakened across the board in August, with overall FAI growth declining by **6.3% YoY**. This decline was attributed to weakened infrastructure and manufacturing investment, partly due to the anti-involution campaign [3][4][84]. 2. **Retail Sales and Consumption**: - Retail sales growth edged down to **3.4% YoY** in August, primarily due to a slowdown in sales of products with trade-in subsidies. The growth in household consumption is expected to decelerate further due to soft household income growth and a high base effect from previous subsidies [3][4][108]. 3. **Industrial Production**: - Industrial production growth cooled to **5.2% YoY** in August, down from **5.7% YoY** in July. This was attributed to weak domestic growth momentum and softer export shipments [3][4][94]. 4. **Property Market Decline**: - The property downturn deepened, with property sales growth declining by **10.6% YoY** in August and new starts down by **20.3% YoY**. The average housing prices in 70 cities continued to decline, indicating ongoing weakness in the property sector [3][4][69]. 5. **Inflation Trends**: - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell into deflation at **-0.4% YoY**, driven by weak food prices. The Producer Price Index (PPI) narrowed its contraction to **-2.9% YoY** [3][4][123]. 6. **Need for Policy Support**: - Additional policy support is deemed necessary due to the softening activity in Q3 and expected weakness in Q4. The government is considering measures such as bringing forward local government debt quotas and increasing fiscal support [5][6]. 7. **Future Economic Outlook**: - Q3 GDP growth is expected to be between **4.5-5% YoY**, with further deceleration anticipated in Q4. Full-year growth for 2025 is projected to average **4.7%** [4][6]. Other Important Insights 1. **Credit Growth**: - Total social financing (TSF) credit growth edged down to **8.8% YoY** in August, reflecting weak bank loans and government bonds. New bank lending remained weak, indicating a cautious lending environment [3][4][137]. 2. **Sector-Specific Insights**: - Infrastructure investment is expected to improve slightly, but manufacturing investment may continue to slow due to weak demand and profit margins. The government plans to support infrastructure spending through special bonds [4][84]. 3. **Consumer Behavior**: - Households are accumulating excess savings, indicating cautious sentiment and subdued spending intentions. The household savings rate remains above pre-COVID levels [3][4][108]. 4. **High-Frequency Data**: - Recent high-frequency data showed a rebound in property sales in early September, suggesting some short-term recovery, although overall trends remain negative [3][4][39]. 5. **Policy Measures**: - The government is expected to implement modest fiscal support measures, potentially increasing broad fiscal support by around **0.5% of GDP** [6]. This summary encapsulates the key points discussed in the conference call, highlighting the current state of the Chinese economy and the anticipated challenges and policy responses.

While many investors may focus their attention on the blue-chip stocks, there are quite a number of smaller companies that are also doing well.These mid-sized companies fly under the radar because they lack coverage and may not turn up on investors’ screens.Still, such names could qualify as solid investments if they have a strong track record and catalysts that can carry the business to the next level.We rounded up five candidates that reported better revenue and profits, and you can determine if they dese ...

Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The report focuses on the **Chinese economy**, particularly its **industrial production**, **fixed asset investment**, **retail sales**, and **property market** performance in August 2023. Core Insights and Arguments 1. **Weak Economic Activity**: China's activity data in August showed broad weakness, missing market expectations, with industrial production growth declining to **5.2% year-on-year** from **5.7%** in July, primarily due to weaker-than-expected exports [1][9]. 2. **Fixed Asset Investment Decline**: Fixed asset investment (FAI) growth fell to **-6.8% year-on-year** in August from **-5.2%** in July, marking a new low since March 2020. This decline was attributed to adverse weather, local construction restrictions, a prolonged property downturn, and a lack of urgency from policymakers [1][12]. 3. **Retail Sales Slowdown**: Retail sales growth moderated to **3.4% year-on-year** in August from **3.7%** in July, mainly due to falling online goods sales, particularly in home appliances and communication equipment [1][13]. 4. **Services Sector Performance**: The services industry output index showed better performance, growing **5.6% year-on-year** in August, only slightly down from **5.8%** in July, indicating resilience in the services sector [1][14]. 5. **Property Market Weakness**: The property market continued to show signs of weakness, with new home starts down **20.3% year-on-year** and property sales declining by **10.3%** in volume terms in August [1][15]. 6. **Labor Market Conditions**: The nationwide unemployment rate increased to **5.3%** in August from **5.2%** in July, indicating ongoing labor market challenges [1][17]. 7. **GDP Growth Forecast**: Despite the sluggish domestic demand, the GDP tracking model suggests a slight upside risk to the Q3 real GDP growth forecast of **4.6% year-on-year**, driven by industrial production and services sector performance [1][18]. Additional Important Insights - **Sector-Specific Performance**: The decline in industrial production was led by slower output growth in ferrous metal smelting, power generation, and general equipment industries, which offset gains in non-ferrous smelting [1][9][25]. - **Investment Growth by Sector**: Year-on-year growth in manufacturing, infrastructure, and property investment dropped significantly in August, indicating broad-based weakness across sectors [1][12]. - **Consumer Behavior Trends**: The decline in online sales growth reflects changing consumer behavior, with expectations of further slowdown due to unfavorable base effects [1][13]. - **Policy Implications**: Incremental and targeted easing measures are deemed necessary in the coming quarters to address the ongoing economic challenges, despite the resilient export performance [1][18]. This summary encapsulates the key points from the conference call, highlighting the current state of the Chinese economy and its various sectors.

Summary of China Equity Strategy Conference Call Industry Overview - **Industry**: China Equity Market - **Key Focus**: 1H25 results, 15th Five-Year Plan, sector performance, and investment strategies Key Findings from 1H25 Results - **Performance Metrics**: Among 445 A and H share companies, 28% reported earnings beats, 40% in-line, and 31% misses [3][14] - **Top Performing Sectors**: - **Transportation**: 67% beats due to strong volume gains and cost control - **Semi-conductor**: 46% beats driven by revenue growth from tariff pull-ins and localization - **Industrial**: 40% beats attributed to margin expansion from lower commodity costs [14][15] - **Underperforming Sectors**: - **Utilities**: 55% misses due to weaker gas demand and renewable tariff cuts - **Small Caps & Education**: 45% misses linked to muted macro conditions - **Hardware**: 43% misses primarily from auto and surveillance demand [14][15] Economic Outlook for 2H25 - **GDP Growth**: PRC GDP grew by 5.3% in 1H25, exceeding the target of 5.0% for 2025 [21] - **PPI/CPI Trends**: PPI down 2.8% and CPI down 0.1% in 1H25, indicating challenges in industrial production prices [21] - **Government Focus**: Emphasis on supply-side reforms to boost CPI/PPI in 2H25, with key themes including economic development, technological innovation, social welfare, green development, and reform [4][20] Sector Recommendations - **Upgrades**: - **Healthcare and Insurance**: Upgraded to overweight due to aging population and increasing insurance needs [5] - **Downgrades**: - **Telecom and Oil & Gas**: Downgraded to underweight due to low profit growth and reduced price competitiveness [5] - **Technology Sector**: Increased weighting expected to benefit from the 15th Five-Year Plan [5] Index Target Revisions - **HSI Targets**: Revised targets for HSI are 26,800 (+7%) by end-2025, 27,500 (+6%) by mid-2026, and 28,800 by end-2026, driven by higher EPS growth [6] - **Valuation Metrics**: HSI's forward P/E at 10.3x and PB at 1.2x are in line with historical averages [6] Top Investment Picks - **H-Share Top Buys**: - Hengrui (Healthcare) - Sunny Optical - ASMPT - **Removed from Top Buys**: Anta, Huaneng Power, and BYD [7] Additional Insights - **Consumer Sector**: Anticipated shifts in consumer behavior and potential government pro-consumption policies in 2H25 [20] - **Yield Plays**: Domestic investors are focusing on yield plays amid cautious outlook for the PRC economy [22][23] Conclusion The conference call highlighted a mixed performance in the Chinese equity market for 1H25, with significant sectoral variations. The outlook for 2H25 suggests a focus on supply-side reforms and strategic investments in healthcare, technology, and insurance sectors, while maintaining caution in telecom and oil & gas. The revised index targets reflect optimism for EPS growth driven by government initiatives and market dynamics.

Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The conference call primarily discusses the **Chinese economy** and its various sectors, including **retail, fixed asset investment (FAI), property, industrial production, and consumption**. Core Insights and Arguments 1. **Domestic Activity Weakness**: - Domestic activity showed a broad weakening in July, with retail sales growth slowing to **3.7% YoY** from **4.8% YoY** in June. FAI recorded an unexpected contraction of **5.2% YoY** due to declines in infrastructure and manufacturing investment, exacerbated by adverse weather conditions [3][86]. 2. **Property Market Decline**: - The property downturn deepened, with property sales contracting **7.8% YoY** in July, compared to **-5.5% in June**. New starts also declined **15.4% YoY** [72][72]. The average new home sales price continued to fall across various city tiers [72]. 3. **Industrial Production Cooling**: - Industrial production growth moderated to **5.7% YoY** in July from **6.8% YoY** in June, with significant declines in mobile phone production and construction-related materials [99][99]. 4. **Inflation Trends**: - CPI growth edged down to **0% YoY** in July, while PPI continued to decline, down **3.6% YoY**. Deflationary pressures are expected to persist into 2025 [126][126]. 5. **Credit and Lending Dynamics**: - RMB loans contracted for the first time in 20 years, declining by **RMB 50 billion** in July. Overall credit growth edged up to **9% YoY** due to strong government bond issuance [140][140]. 6. **Policy Responses**: - The government has initiated macro support measures, including subsidies for childcare and consumer loans, and is expected to roll out additional fiscal stimulus if growth continues to falter [6][6]. 7. **Consumer Confidence and Spending**: - Consumer confidence remains low, with households accumulating excess savings. Real disposable income growth has softened, indicating a cautious outlook for consumption in H2 2025 [105][111]. Additional Important Insights 1. **Export Growth**: - Despite a deeper decline in exports to the US, overall export growth picked up to **7.2% YoY** [3]. 2. **Sector-Specific Trends**: - The UBS Evidence Lab Labour Market Survey indicated slightly softening hiring momentum, particularly among exporters, suggesting a mixed outlook for employment [3]. 3. **Future Outlook**: - The property market is expected to stabilize by mid-2026, but declines in property sales, new starts, and investment are anticipated in 2025 [72][72]. 4. **Government Bond Issuance**: - The government plans to increase support for infrastructure spending, with special government bonds raised to **RMB 800 billion** in 2025 from **RMB 700 billion** in 2024 [86]. 5. **Consumer Subsidies**: - Trade-in subsidies are set to double to **RMB 300 billion**, alongside other social spending increases, to stimulate consumption [111]. This summary encapsulates the critical points discussed in the conference call, highlighting the current state and outlook of the Chinese economy across various sectors.

Overview - Philippine property billionaire Manuel Villar faces a $24 billion conundrum [1] Business Focus - The article discusses Manuel Villar's $24 billion business empire related to Philippine property [1]

Philippine Property Billionaire Manuel Villar’s $24 Billion Conundrum https://t.co/JXuA3MftoR https://t.co/2ZwyQq4KNf ...

Company Performance - SBB's rental income in the second quarter was better than expected [1] Industry Context - SBB was at the center of Sweden's property crisis two years ago [1]