Gain Exposure to Popular Sectors like EV, Microchip Stocks, and more on Phillip MT5

24 Nov 2021

Gain exposure to popular sectors – Electric Vehicles (EV), Microchip Stocks, Consumer Staples, Financials – from as small as one share CFD on Phillip MT5 at zero commission with no minimum and platform fees.

Read on to learn more about these sectors!

 

Electric Vehicles

Ford Motor Co | General Electric Co

 

Electric vehicles are undergoing the beginnings of a renaissance – where the technological know-how behind constructing better batteries, charging stations, and electric car designs, have been meeting increasing adoption amongst regulators, traditional manufacturers, and consumers alike.

Perhaps hoping to mirror Tesla’s runaway success, more and more automakers have steadily formed their own alliances and battle plans to begin electric vehicle production, scouring the globe for partners with which to refine their own battery solutions and electric vehicles while also committing literal billions in investment to accelerate their development.

Interestingly, investors giddy with the success of early electric vehicle stocks have accordingly shown incredible receptiveness towards just about any company willing to pivot to electric vehicle production and have spent the last couple of years ploughing billions into traditional automakers – perhaps in search of the next Tesla.

There are a number of different ways to invest in shares. The most well-known and direct method is share trading – colloquially known as stock trading – by investing in the shares of companies that are listed on a stock exchange.

Microchip Stocks

Advanced Micro Devices | Applied Materials | Analog Devices | Intel Corp | Micron Technology | Nvidia Corp | Qualcomm | Cirrus Logic | VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF

 

Analyses of the microchip industries are perhaps some of the harshest around. Besides supply chain and other business-related concerns (such as pricing), microchip-related stocks often compete on the technological superiority of their products – with AMD and Nvidia perhaps being the most famous example of this rivalry.

For instance, while decades-long industry stalwart Intel is still struggling to perfect production of 10nm (nanometer) processors, companies such as Nvidia, IBM, and even Apple have been competing with processors at 7nm and less (smaller is better).

Although many of these stocks have taken a hit in recent months thanks to massive chip shortages worldwide, it is becoming increasingly clear that given how many applications in the post-pandemic world require chips – from the simplest of televisions and smartphones to the most advanced self-driving cars, even the fiercest of rivalries may see most chipmakers gain given the sheer expected growth of the microchip pie.

 

Consumer Staples

Best Buy Co | Coca-Cola Co| Home Depot | McDonalds | Pepsi Co | Walmart | International Paper

 

Consumer staples are often said to deserve a regular, unquestioned spot in an investment portfolio, largely thanks to their un-cyclical nature. Precisely because they tend to provide essential goods and services such as food and household items (as opposed to discretionary purchases such as luxury items and expensive food), consumer staple stocks tend to provide relative calm during economic downturns.

Furthermore, with the S&P500 (made up of large-caps) paying an average dividend yield of around 1.3% only, many find that the added benefit of holding consumer staples comes from their typically steady and regular dividend-paying nature.

True to form, many of them have maintained their dividend payouts even over the pandemic, with Dividend Kings such as Coca-Cola Co. continuing to raise their dividend – for the 59th consecutive year.

 

Financials

Bank of America | Citigroup | Goldman Sachs | JP Morgan Chase | American International Group | Financial Slt Sec SPDR Fnd

 

Bank stocks tend to be a classic cyclical play and have predictably outperformed stock market benchmarks over the past year.

Even while COVID-19 ravaged many industries, the major US banks such as JP Morgan weathered the pandemic relatively well. Accordingly, many of them recently received a profit boost from the release of reserves that were built up as a contingency for potential loan losses over the economic downturn.

While low interest rates over the past couple of years have hurt certain segments of their businesses, services such as investment banking where mergers & acquisitions (M&As), IPOs, and corporate debt issuance have been booming – with many recording record revenue in some areas.

Looking ahead, with employment figures and inflation running hot, many will be watching for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes to be brought forward, further raising sentiment in bank stocks.


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Features of trading on Phillip Nova

  • Gain Access to Over 20 Global Exchanges
    Capture opportunities from over 200 global futures from over 20 global exchanges
  • Trade Opportunities in Global Stocks
    Over 11,000 Stocks and ETFs across Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and US markets.
  • Over 90 Technical Indicators
    View live charts and trade with ease with over 90 technical indicators available in the Phillip Nova platform
  • Trade Multiple Assets on Phillip Nova
    You can trade Stocks, ETFs, Forex and Futures on a single ledger with Phillip Nova
An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a marketable security that is formed to track nearly anything, ranging from a specific index, sector, commodity, or increasingly, theme. They are most commonly used to track a basket of stocks, and can typically be accessed through the same channels as regular stocks. ETFs are typically separated into passively-managed ETFs that simply mirror the security they are tracking (e.g. the STI), and actively managed ones that attempt to deliver higher returns or specific investment objectives, often with a pre-specified theme in mind (e.g. ARK Invest’s Innovation ETF).

Why should I trade in ETF CFDs?

  • ETFs have been growing in popularity over the years. 2020 was the best year for ETFs yet, with global equity ETFs seeing more than $1T in inflows within a 12-month period. Using CFDs to gain exposure to ETFs allows for greater capital efficiency because only a portion of the contract value is required as margin to establish a position.
  • ETFs are particularly popular with investors seeking a relatively hassle-free investing experience, while desiring exposure to a range of specific and relatively understandable securities. Trading ETF CFDs brings greater convenience by eliminating the need for traders to hold multiple currencies in order to access global ETFs.
  • An investor wanting exposure to the post-pandemic economic recovery could open a position in the well-known SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the performance of the S&P 500. Another investor that may be convinced of the future importance of Environmental, Social and Governance concerns (ESG) may find the increasing selection of ESG-themed ETFs that track a basket of high ESG-rating companies to be a good investment, rather than cherry-picking individual equities by hand. ETF CFDs can act as a powerful tool for traders can profit from both directions of the market by taking on long or short positions.

A look at two ETF CFDs we offer:

1) Has the ARKK been sunk?

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) ARKK is an actively managed ETF by ARK Invest that invests in a range of companies based on their innovative and industry-disrupting potential. ARKK’s largest holdings are in companies such as Tesla, Square, and Zoom. ARKK is down around -33% from peaking on 12th Feb and is currently in the red for the year to date as the market experiences a risk-off outflow of funds. Superstar fund manager Cathie Wood has however been consistently doubling down on her bets, buying even more shares in growth stocks that are going through their own tumultuous periods such as DraftKings, Peloton, Teladoc, and Tesla. In her view, ARKK is playing the long game, and remains steadfastly convinced in the long-term prospects of these growth stocks beyond this current bout of volatility. Similarly on outflows, investors are still betting big on ARKK as ARK Invest has only lost about $1.2B in assets this year across all its six funds, compared to seeing an inflow of $15.1B during the same period. Recently, investors have been nervously eyeing ARKK’s basket of tech stocks as their future earnings potential remain vulnerable to erosion through high inflation – the dominant concern of the market in recent weeks. As commodities – the major contributor to the recent heightened inflation fears – drops sharply from record highs, are investor concerns over hyperinflation overblown?

2) Searching for exposure to Asian equities?

iShares MSCI Asia ex Japan ETF (AAXJ) The AAXJ is currently trading -10.6% adrift of all-time highs seen in February, giving up gains in tandem with an Asia-wide equity sell-off at the time. Given that slightly over 40% of the ETF’s holdings are based in China, the ongoing tumult seen in Chinese equities currently have carried over nearly perfectly in the AAXJ, as Chinese investors take a breather after the stellar gains made over the past year. Looking ahead, Asia – and particularly China, is steaming ahead with its economic recovery. China is widely expected to be one of the best-performing major economies this year, providing a major boost to the outlook for corporate earnings. As the rest of Asia and the world gradually opens up their own economies, AAXJ is likely to again benefit from strong Asian outperformance amidst a strengthening trade outlook.

CFD is available for trading on Phillip MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

Features of trading CFD:

  • Trade in both the bull and the bear markets
    The ability to enter a long and/or short position allow traders to take advantage of both rising and falling markets.
  • Smaller barrier to entry
    Flexible and smaller contract sizes. This means that traders will be able to enter into a contract with a modest amount of capital.
  • No expiration date or risk of delivery
    Unlike futures which commonly have a fixed expiration date, CFD allows traders to perpetually hold the position(s). CFD is cash settled, no need to worry about the delivery of the underlying asset.

 

Benefits of using Phillip MT5:

Trade at zero commission on a dynamic platform that offers low spreads. Integrated with Autochartist and Trading Central Indicators, and available on mobile, web and desktop app, you will never miss a trading opportunity with Phillip MT5.

Register for a FREE 30-day Phillip MetaTrader 5 Demo Account

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