Down, First
I like to check out trading economics every now and then that provides a pretty broad view of how things are trending. For the most part, I avoid looking at the stock indexes because, as you guessed it, it’s usually just painfully up around the world (with the exception of some market like Colombia or Turkey that invariably hits inflation trouble and sees a sell off). However lately I’ve come across something interesting that I don’t know if it has received much attention…Denmark.
Let’s look at the companies a little closer
As you can see, Novo Nordisk’s is overwhelmingly large in market cap compared to the rest of listed equities, even the number 2 position of DSV A/S remains down, and not far from it, the utilities giant of Orsted is down a significant amount as well as Pandora.
There are a significant number of companies that continue to do very well however, with shockingly stable balance sheets and high dividends.
Denmark’s central government debt to GDP ratio was low and decreasing, standing at 7.4% in 2024. This was a record low, reflecting a sound debt structure, a robust economy, and a consistently stable AAA credit rating. The debt is managed by the central government and includes both domestic and foreign components, with investor confidence keeping financing costs low.
Thoughts
My inclination is that these “random” stock exchanges are more “free” in the sense that they are detached from the governance apparatus of the state. Companies can be down a significant percentage without everybody crying that the sky is falling and there is often less of a reliance on equity markets for average citizenry elsewhere compared to Canada and the United States. Denmark is furthermore unique given that they do not use the Euro and there is no Central Bank plan or work-in-place to initiate the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency.
This free’r market is where I believe there resides some opportunity as investors since they can be quietly growing, expanding, buying back shares without receiving flashy headlines and immense volume shocks. No doubt, many of those companies will receive a pullback when Europe begins to fall apart at the seams, so it pays to be careful still.
One company on the Danish stock exchange is an On The Ball Investment Powerplay pick. Join as a member for more
Could it be that Denmark is what is to come? General index funds down >35%? I think so. In Western markets, many revenues, earnings and share prices have disappointed but “in the shadows” because it was washed out by the S&P 7 AI mania, painting the illusion that things remain normal. Rather than play general ETFs or Index funds, it will prove to be a useful skill for those who can sort through the noise and choose a portfolio of individual companies that are worth owning regardless; these funds are simply too lopsided in weight to buy the whole basket. Are you ready to be an investor?
