STOCK MARKET REPORT by GRIMALDI & PARTNERS

LAST MONTH REVIEW

The international stock markets ended September with some significant losses.

FEAR FACTORS:

Investors fear of the troubled Chinese real estate sector in light of the Evergrande crisis.
Concerns about rising inflation and slower economic upturn at the same time.
Rising oil prices are likely to show that the global supply deficit is significantly larger than expected.
Fear of the feared departure from loose US monetary policy and thus the prospect of a reduction in Fed stimulus.
The need to raise or suspend the US debt ceiling emerged.

Particularly noticeable at TITLE LEVEL:

Covid-19 drug from ROCHE shows effect in clinical study

Corona therapy from Roche has shown effects in clinical tests. According to the Swiss pharmaceutical company, the preparation Ronapreve significantly reduced the viral load of Covid-19 patients treated in hospital in a phase II / III study and thus achieved the main goal. The cocktail made from the drugs casirivimab and imdevimab is already approved for emergency use in several countries such as the USA, Great Britain and Japan.

Weko opens investigation against SWISSCOM Directories

The Competition Commission (Weko) has opened an investigation against Swisscom and its subsidiary Directories. The reason for this is a possible violation of the antitrust law.

As part of the investigation, it is now to be checked whether Swisscom Directories actually has a dominant position and is abusive within the meaning of the Cartel Act.

Criticism of pricing policy - With the introduction of Swiss List, Directories fundamentally changed the price and the conditions for adding entries to the telephone directory, complains the Weko. Various products and services would now only be offered as a bundle. According to an initial assessment, this could lead to a hindrance to competitors and to the disadvantage of the opposite side of the market

MONTH OUTLOOK

The correction from September shows that share prices cannot rise unchecked. This year the bad reputation of September as a weak stock market month has been preserved!

The rise in the price of oil has added to the fear of inflation. This could lead to rising long-term interest rates. This would require the central banks to make monetary policy more restrictive, which would be a burden for the stock markets. It therefore remains to be seen whether the rise in inflation is temporary or not.

The upcoming company results for the third quarter may be decisive for the further course of the stock markets in the current month. After the September correction, the oversold situation suggests rising prices.

We expect an upward trend in October.

STOCK RECOMMENDATION