The outbreak of ‘Coronavirus’ in China has got the investors worried across the globe. The economic impact of Covid-19 or Novel Coronavirus to the world equity markets will be bigger than that of SARS in 2003, which did not impact the world economy.
China is the focal point, and the role of the Chinese economy in providing incremental growth to the world economy cannot be ruled out. Hence, any slowdown in China is likely to impact companies across the globe both negatively and positively.
“During the period, the pie (share) of the Chinese economy (in the world economic growth) has grown 4 times to 16.3% from 4.2% of the world economy. If the situation takes longer to stabilize, the impact on the world economy will be higher,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said in a report.
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“The trade between India & China has also grown in the same period to USD 87 billion in FY19, imports being the major component. It will have some positives and negatives for India in the short to medium-term,” he said.
India imports large amounts of raw materials & semi-finished goods for sectors like auto, pharma (APIs), consumer durables and electronics. Costs are likely to increase which will also impact profitability.
Revenue and exports to China are limited to sectors like Agriculture, Auto, Aquaculture and Engineering.
Stocks that are likely to get impacted positively include companies that are in the electronic equipment, organic chemicals, fertilizers and plastics space that are top import areas from China, and are going to get the benefit from the fall in imports from China.
Eight stocks that are likely to benefit from the outbreak of Coronavirus are Dixon Technologies, PI Industries, Supreme Industries, Aarti Industries, UPL, KPR Mills, Asian Paints and Tata Steel, experts say.
Stocks that are likely to get impacted negatively from the Coronavirus outbreak are Tata Motors, Motherson Sumi, Havells India, Sun Pharma, and PI Industries, according to Geojit Financial Services report.
“The world wants to diversify its high trade exposure with China. India has been emerging as a strong source of the exporter in segments like Manufacturing, Chemicals, IT and Engineering. India can capitalise on “Make In India” in the long-term,” Geojit Financial Services said in a note.
Indian markets witnessed a knee-jerk reaction in January when the reports first emerged and since then the market has been volatile.
The economic effect of SARS in 2003 was very low but it had a much higher impact on the world equity market since it was the first epidemic fear post the 9/11 terror attack of 2001.
Reports suggest that the market has handled it with more stability and with a limited impact on world financial markets and in South-East Asian regions.
“This is because of the belief that a large part of the epidemic effect will be limited to certain regions, that too for H1CY20 and reduce as the climate gets hotter. China has started opening its essential services, ports and manufacturing hubs slowly,” Geojit said in the report.
“This is expected to have a short-term effect, but maybe an in-built blessing for other emerging economies like India to develop as a long-term investment destination when the world adopts diversification to reduce sourcing risk,” it said.
Geojit Financial Services list out sectors which are likely to benefit positively and negatively from the outbreak of Coronavirus:
Negatively Affected Sectors…
Auto: Shut down in China to impact sales volumes. Auto Ancillaries: Supply chain disruptions to impact production. Chemical: Basic raw material and intermediaries will lead to an increase in prices. Pharmaceuticals: Higher exposure to Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) & intermediary supplies from China Consumer Durables: Shortage of supply products & an increase in prices.Positively Affected Sectors…Chemical: Players with strong supply chain & global exports to benefit. Oil & Gas: Benign commodity price to boost margins in the medium term. Textile: Better export opportunities for domestic companies. Metals & Mining: Fall in imports will improve sector outlook.
Here is a list of top 8 stocks which are likely to benefit the most from the outbreak of Coronavirus:
Dixon technologies are our top pick in the electronic equipment segment. “Make in India” theme is the key reason for the stellar performance of Dixon Technologies.
Synergy with marquee names like Samsung and Xiaomi is also a key factor for the vertical growth of the company.
The cost of production is increasing in China where companies are moving from China to India and Dixon technologies is a major beneficiary of this phenomenon and the company has a strong order book for FY20-21. Cut in corporate tax is also boosting the bottom-line of the company.
PI Industries is leading players in Agro Chemicals which is getting major benefits from falling imports from china of Fertilizer and Chemical products.
PI Industries is ready for multi-year growth in the CSM segment because of its enhanced R&D, supply scarcity related issues in China.
Recently, it has witnessed big product wins and a significant surge in the deal pipeline. The company is in the mode of capacity expansion as management sees decent growth opportunities in the future.
Plastic products are the major beneficiaries of falling Crude oil prices and imports from China where Supreme industries are one of the leading players in the industry.
Recently, it has witnessed decent margin expansion amid a slowdown in the volume where future growth outlook is bright as management expects volume to pick-up led by a revival in demand from the packaging and plastic piping segment.
Pipes and fittings are likely to witness strong demand from the government’s ‘Nal se Jal’ Scheme. The company witnessed strong demand from that scheme in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Expert: Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd
Aarti Industries: It is a backward integrated player, and has limited exposure towards China.
KPR Mills: Fully backward integrated player to benefit from Improved outlook for the sector.
Asian Paint: Reduction in the raw material cost will benefit the company.
Tata Steel: Domestic companies capacity utilisation to improve.
Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
