The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,636.50 on Monday, down 0.72 points or 0.04 per cent. Transactions totalled 51.48 billion baht with an index high of 1,642.42 and a low of 1,632.79.
The index dropped for the second consecutive day after falling by 4.25 points or 0.26 per cent on Friday.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were GUNKUL, GPSC, PTT, CRC, CPALL, DELTA, MAKRO, EA, OR and KBANK.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 28,676.46, down 106.13 points or 0.37 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,615.97, down 2.08 points or 0.057 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 14,715.65, up 5.32 points or 0.036 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,999.55, down 12.88 points or 0.43 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 18,048.94, up 87.30 points or 0.49 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was closed for Boxing Day.
The price of gold in Thailand on Monday morning was unchanged from Saturdays one-time trading price announcement.
A9.26am report from the Gold Traders Association showed the buying price of gold bar at THB28,600 per baht weight and selling price at THB28,700, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB28,091.48 and THB29,200, respectively.
The spot gold price on Monday morning was hovering around US$1,811 (THB60,664) per ounce, after the price of gold moved in a narrow range in the past weekend, as all major gold markets around the world were closed for the Christmas holidays.
Krungsri Securities forecast the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Monday (December 27) would fluctuate between 1,630-1,650 points despite positive news of Covid-19 vaccines and antiviral pills helping alleviate concerns over Omicron variant.
It said the index also gained positive sentiment from mass buy-ups of Super Savings Fund and Retirement Mutual Fund to gain tax exemption.
“However, the index would be under pressure due to foreign fund flow slowdown and technical signs at the resistance level,” Krungsri Securities said.
It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy: ▪︎ HMPRO, CPN, CRC, AMATA, WHA, VGI, SYNEX, COM7 and JMART, which are domestic play stocks. ▪︎ RCL, LEO, III, WICE, SONIC and JWD, which benefit from rising freight rate. ▪︎ EA, GPSC, AMATA, WHA, AH and SAT, which benefit from the government’s support on electric vehicles.
TOKYO – A total of 86 World Trade Organization member countries and regions, including Japan, the United States and European nations, agreed earlier this month on eight articles regarding electronic commerce, including consumer protection and government data disclosure.
In principle, the WTO requires unanimous consent from its 164 members. However, it is often difficult to reach consensus between developed and developing countries and regions due to conflicting opinions. Considering such a situation, some members who share certain objectives are taking initiatives to put rules in place in specific fields of WTO negotiations.
The eight articles include “online consumer protection,” such as prohibiting fraudulent activities that cause harm to consumers, and “open government data,” which encourages development of mainly small and medium-sized enterprises. The WTO had no common rules on e-commerce even though the volume of cross-border data flows approximately quintupled in the five years to 2020 due to digitization. It is the first time the members have agreed on individual articles.
In the field of e-commerce, about 20 items are viewed as still to be negotiated, including customs duties on electronic transmissions, with the aim of reaching general agreement by the end of 2022.
Concerning domestic rulemaking on services businesses by some WTO member countries and regions, Japan, the European Union and China have been participating in negotiations in all fields, while the United States decided not to participate in some of them. India and South Africa have opposed the framework on the grounds that it is led by only certain countries and regions and therefore does not respect the WTO principle of unanimity.
Tsuyoshi Kawase, a professor of international economic law at Sophia University, said: “If an agreement on trade liberalization is applied only to some countries and regions, it may violate most-favored-nation treatment, which prohibits discriminatory treatment among members. If it is agreed and implemented within the WTO framework, it must be a mechanism that benefits all members.”
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,637.22 on Friday, down 4.25 points or 0.26 per cent. Transactions totalled 57.27 billion baht with an index high of 1,644.12 and a low of 1,635.19.
The index fell after rising by 0.90 per cent on Thursday, 0.28 per cent on Wednesday and 0.40 per cent on Tuesday.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were GPSC, MAKRO, EA, TRUE, NV, CPALL, GULF, U, SCB and RCL.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 28,782.59, down 15.78 points or 0.055 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,618.05, down 25.29 points or 0.69 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 14,710.33, down 153.60 points or 1.03 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,223.76, up 30.12 points or 0.13 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 3,012.43, up 14.26 points or 0.48 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,961.64, up 14.98 points or 0.083 per cent.
The baht opened at 33.52 to the US dollar on Friday, strengthening from Thursday’s closing rate of 33.54.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.45 and 33.60 to the greenback during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
Poon said that the baht might strengthen slightly and swing sideways in the range between 33.40 to 33.50 to the dollar.
He said the baht continued to strengthen this week after the market was in a risk-on state which caused the dollar to weaken.
Moreover, foreign investors invested in Thai assets also helped the baht to strengthen.
He said that the baht might strengthen more if the gold price reaches near the key resistance level and investors sell the gold.
Poon added that the baht should strengthen in the short term according to the technical sign.
The baht key resistance level is at 33.80 to the dollar, which is the level that exporters are waiting to close the risk. Meanwhile, the baht support level is at 33.40 to the dollar.
Poon added that the number of transactions at the end of the year is reducing so the currency market is likely to fluctuate.
The price of gold in Thailand on Friday morning was unchanged from Thursday’s close.
AGold Traders Association report at 9.29am said the buying price of a gold bar was THB28,600 per baht weight and selling price THB28,700, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB28,091.48 and THB29,200, respectively.
The spot gold price on Friday morning hovered around US$1,809 (THB60,652) per ounce after Comex gold at close on Thursday rose by $9.5 to $1,8011.7 per ounce due to support from buying the precious metal as a safe-haven asset amid concerns over the Omicron Covid-19 outbreak and the US inflation.
Krungsri Securities expected the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Friday (December 24) to rise to the resistance level between 1,650-1,660 points.
It said the index gained positive sentiment from positive news stating that AstraZeneca and Novavax Covid-19 vaccines, including Paxlovid and Molnupiravir antiviral pills, were effective against Omicron variant which helps alleviate concerns among investors.
However, it advised investors to beware of mass sell-offs of shares in response to technical signs as it would pressure the index.
It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy: ▪︎ HMPRO, CPN, CRC, AMATA, WHA, VGI, SYNEX, COM and JMART, which are domestic play stocks. ▪︎ RCL, LEO, III, WICE, SONIC and JWD, which benefit from rising freight rate. ▪︎ EA, GPSC, AMATA, WHA, AH and SAT, which benefit from the government’s support on electric vehicles.
Regulators rejected a pair of proposals to offer physically-backed bitcoin exchange-traded funds, handing crypto enthusiasts a proverbial bag of coal ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday that the proposals from Valkyrie Investments and Kryptoin failed to meet requirements to prevent fraudulent and manipulative practices that are needed to protect investors. It allowed futures-backed bitcoin ETFs to be offered in October. The earlier-than-expected decision from the SEC could suggest a 2022 approval for a pure bitcoin fund may not be in the cards either.
The deadline for a decision on the two fund proposals was Jan. 7, according to Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, who likens the early edict as a “Scrooge-jection.”
The decision comes about a month after after the agency rejected a VanEck application for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
“The fact that the SEC is disapproving faster than they needed to — we were optimistic about futures, but we’re not confident in a 2022 approval,” Balchunas said.
Launching the first spot-bitcoin ETF remains the holy grail for investment fund providers, who see such products as an entry way into crypto for millions of individual investors. The first Bitcoin futures ETF, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy attracted about $1 billion in investor inflows shortly after its launch.
The SEC’s decisions on First Trust/Skybridge’s proposed spot-Bitcoin ETF is expected on Jan. 22, to be followed by a decision on Fidelity’s on Jan. 27. The likelihood of those getting approved seems small, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, who joked in a meme depicting the SEC as the Grim Reaper, knocking at First Trust and Skybridge’s door.
The number of crypto-tracking investment vehicles worldwide more than doubled to 80 from just 35 at the end of 2020, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data. Assets soared to $63 billion, compared to $24 billion at the start of the year.
When the trade deal between China and the U.S. was signed in January 2020, there was some hope it would lead to a reduction in bilateral tensions and restore some balance to trade, but those goals are proving elusive as 2021 comes to a close.
In the 23 months since then-President Donald Trump signed the phase-one agreement, Chinese imports from the U.S. have indeed hit a new record. However, as of the end of last month Beijing was well behind on promises made — buying little more than 59% of the extra $200 billion in manufactured, agricultural and energy goods it said it would by the end of 2021.
The increase in imports was overwhelmed by the pandemic-induced surge in exports going the other way, undermining the attempt to secure more balanced trade between the world’s two biggest economies. That puts China on track for a record trade surplus with the U.S. this year — selling $358 billion more in goods than it bought in the first 11 months of this year.
“Since the agreement came into effect, China has striven to overcome multiple negative effects brought about by epidemic shocks, the global economic recession and the blockage of the supply chain, and pushed for the two sides to jointly implement the deal,” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.
“We hope the U.S. can create a good atmosphere and conditions for the two sides to expand trade cooperation,” he added, saying their communication lines were currently normal.
Critics of Trump’s deal said its terms, especially the purchase promises, were unrealistic from the start. Disruptions to global commerce from the Covid-19 pandemic have exacerbated the situation. In addition, punitive tariffs imposed by both sides are still in place, making hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of goods more expensive.
Former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke this week said that “unless there’s a signal, a clear change of behavior — commitments by the People’s Republic of China on these tough economics and trade policies — I think it would be very hard for the Biden administration to reduce or eliminate those tariffs.”
Both sides have said that they are continuing to discuss the trade deal, with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in October saying that the administration would talk directly to China to enforce what was agreed. However, there was no mention of trade after the nations’ leaders spoke last month. And with no new agreement, it is unclear what will happen in the new year with Chinese purchases of products like soybeans, airplanes or natural gas.
China’s firms imported $13.6 billion worth of manufactured, agricultural and energy goods from the U.S. in November, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
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