Daily Financial Update

Market Pulse: Asia-Pacific markets shrugged off global tech pressure as the NZX 50 climbed 0.6% after a late surge, pointing to regional resilience.
Key Movers: Groww shares rebounded 4% after Thursday’s slump, Robinhood Chain’s TVL surged past $400 million, and Munters Group reported a 137% jump in order intake, highlighting select sector leaders.
Macro & Politics: Rystad’s four USA-Iran scenarios are rattling energy markets with renewed Strait of Hormuz tensions, while Assam’s Rs 77,353 crore power investment plan signals India’s push toward energy surplus.
What’s Next: Keep an eye on Temu’s Start:up Slovenia tie-up for shifts in EU cross-border e-commerce dynamics and potential REIT beneficiaries in last-mile logistics.

Market Commentary

Everyone’s zeroed in on mega-cap software but sleeping on the semiconductor thread in “Indium Phosphide Wafer Market Size to Hit USD 679.76 Million by 2035” (GlobeNewswire). With that market projected to balloon deep into the next decade, missing out on this cycle is a damn shame and a kicker for income-hungry investors.

Here’s a thought: the institutional cash piling into Robinhood Chain’s rails (seen in “Robinhood Chain’s protocol TVL surpasses $400M as Layer 2 gains momentum” from Crypto Briefing) and Temu’s pan-European expansion via “Temu partners with Start:up Slovenia” (PRNewswire) aren’t isolated events. They’re two sides of the same thesis—cheap, scalable platforms fueling next-gen commerce and payments, creating a self-reinforcing growth loop, hell, it’s a narrative begging for bigger bets.

Action-plan: shift some capital into energy names hit by “Rystad Outlines 4 Potential USA-Iran Scenarios” (Rigzone) – size positions with short-dated options to hedge, and farm yield by writing covered calls on industrial semis. Meanwhile, stake into protocols with transparent distribution mechanics instead of chasing hype.