The world’s top 10 largest market capitalisation companies were struggling for most of the first quarter of this year.
This came amid uncertainties over the US Federal rate hikes, the continued inflationary pressure and the Russia-Ukraine war that broke out in mid-February.
Aside from Saudi Arabian Oil Co (SAR: 2222) – also known as Saudi Aramco – and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.B) which recorded an increase of 19.98% and 17.34% year-to-date, respectively, the other eight companies have been in the red so far this year.
Bad start but signs of recovery emerging
Despite the bad start of the year for the largest companies, there are signs of recovery as seen by the rebound in most of the share prices over the last month despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Aside from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (NYSE: TSM) (TPE: 2330), also known as TSMC, which fell by 3.0% over the last one-month, all the other mega-cap stocks in the top 10 list have rebounded.
Part of the reason for the fall in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s share price concern over Taiwan’s geopolitical status given its historical tense relations with China.
Russia’s ongoing military operation in Ukraine could embolden China to consider invading Taiwan in the future, as seen by the louder rhetoric recently.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: APPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) lead the top 10 market cap list but if not for the recovery in the last month, Saudi Aramco would have caught up with the two technology giants.
Instead, both Apple and Microsoft retained their positions although both companies have recorded a decline of 1.85% and 9.39% in their total return, respectively, so far this year.
Despite the decline, Apple’s current market cap is not far from the US$3 trillion mark.
Meanwhile Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB), which is the owner of Facebook, the world’s largest social media network, has been the worst performer among the top 10 largest market cap companies. Year-to-date, Meta has seen a decline of 34.7% in its total return.
However, if not for the rebound recently, its market cap would have been even lower than TSMC.
While it is too early to say if the worst is over for the big companies, I believe that the selloff at the beginning of this year has largely priced in the seven interest rate hikes that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is forecasting for this year.
Now that the cards are out, I think it offers up a good opportunity for long-term investors to accumulate some of the best-run companies in the world.
Source: Bloomberg, ProsperUs (as at 24 March 2022)
