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Orsted may pay dividend again after several years
Orsted, the Danish renewable energy utility, recently published its Q2 earnings report, which showed mixed results. The company exceeded analysts’ expectations in terms of both revenue and EBITDA, but fell short of net income estimates. Nonetheless, project developments are on track, and the company’s liquidity position remains adequate. In light of the results, management maintains its 2026 guidance, and announced dividend payment plans for 2027. Overall, Orsted keeps making good progress, so we are keeping the stock on our Equity Top Pick List.
Commodities - Technical Analysis
Gold and silver have broken their downtrends, triggering upward waves that still hold potential for further gains. After a strong retest, the oil price may settle into a range, but there are still opportunities for further gains. Natural gas prices did not reach a new low, but no pattern indicating a reversal has yet emerged. Copper is maintaining its upward trend; it must rise again within the next few days, or the rally could break down. Wheat and corn are also beginning to turn upward again from key support levels after strong retests.
Although forint-denominated assets are currently performing exceptionally well, we still consider it important to diversify the bond portfolio by currency, which should be achieved through euro- and dollar-denominated regional government bonds, as well as euro- and dollar-denominated securities issued by highly rated companies. Currency diversification is not a stance against forint-denominated assets, but is necessary to reduce concentration risk. In our analysis, we have selected instruments linked to fundamentally stable issuers that offer acceptable yields in the current market environment.
Historically, U.S. corporate bond spreads remain at very low levels, although they have risen slightly recently due to the conflict in Iran. Spreads for investment-grade (BBB) bonds are hovering just above 1%, while those for BB-rated bonds (1.72%) are also close to their lows (1.56%). We saw similar movements in the European high-yield bond segment; the spread rose from 2.60% in February to as high as 2.96% by mid-April, but it remains well below the long-term average.
Euro-Denominated Corporate Bonds
Yields on corporate bonds remain at low levels, even though the conflict in Iran has caused a slight increase. At the same time, as we get closer to the end of the war, risk appetite is returning to the capital markets. There is only a very minimal yield premium, if any at all, for euro-denominated high-yield (HY) securities compared to the investment-grade category. Therefore, one must consider whether it is worth taking on greater risk for a relatively small premium.
Dollar-Denominated Corporate Bonds
Companies in the region typically issue bonds in euros, so the supply available in dollars is much more limited. The list includes two bonds linked to OTP, a subordinated instrument maturing in 2033 and another in 2035, as well as a Hungarian-issued bond, namely MVM’s note maturing in June 2028.
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