A Gold Traders Association report at 9.25am said the buying price of a gold bar was THB27,900 per baht weight and selling price THB28,000, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB27,394.12 and THB28,500, respectively.
At close on Thursday, the buying price of a gold bar was THB27,650 per baht weight and selling price THB27,750, while gold ornaments were THB27,151.56 and THB28,250, respectively.
The spot gold price on Friday morning hovered around US$1,755 (THB59,213) per ounce after Comex gold at close on Thursday surged by $34.1 to $1,757 per ounce. The price of gold rose nearly two per cent due to support from the depreciation of the US dollar, including buying gold as a safe-haven asset after the US released sluggish labour data.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 5.74 points or 0.36 per cent to 1,599.94 on Friday morning, witnessing a high of 1,605.20 and a low of 1,599.80 in opening trade.
Krungsri Securities predicted the day’s index would fall to between 1,600 and 1,590 points due to uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve signalling it would taper its quantitative easing and raise the interest rate sooner than expected, plus the conflict in US Congress debt ceiling and corporate income tax hike.
However, the rising oil price and mass buy-up of stocks enjoying specific positive sentiment would help boost the index, Krungsri Securities said.
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It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy:
▪︎ Banpu, Lanna, DCC, Cotto and Tasco, which gained its specific positive sentiment.
▪︎ PTT, PTTEP, TOP, PTTGC, SPRC and IVL, which benefit from rising oil price.
▪︎ Hana, KCE, TU, CPF, GFPT, Asian, NER, Sun and APure, which benefit from weakening baht.
The SET Index closed at 1,605.68 on Thursday, down 11.30 points or 0.70 per cent. Transactions totalled 90.65 billion baht with an index high of 1,621.15 and a low of 1,601.79.
After a monthlong, surprisingly competitive race for Japans new leader, the contest ended predictably: Fumio Kishida, the most experienced, most middle-of-the-road candidate, is set to become Japans 100th prime minister.
For good or ill, Kishida is seen by investors as a continuity choice — stable, but unlikely to energize markets much. Early in the race, foreign investors and retail traders were intrigued by the potential of a Taro Kono victory, attracted by his fluent English, reformist leanings and social-media savvy.
“Kishida is likely to generate the weakest equity market moves” of the candidates, Goldman Sachs economist Naohiko Baba wrote in a report, “particularly since his reformist views appear somewhat weak and his stance on fiscal discipline is cautious.”
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Stock market reaction to Kishida’s victory was muted on Thursday, with the Topix falling 0.4%.
Delivering a fresh stimulus package that won’t disappoint investors will be Kishida’s next challenge. He has pledged to be nimble about spending as the economy heals from the pandemic, and after Wednesday’s victory he repeated his promise to compile a package worth “tens of trillions” of yen before the end of the year.
Kishida’s support for lifting virus restrictions and restarting the popular “Go To Travel” discount program may get equity investors to take another look at train operators and airlines, just as the country’s latest state of emergency is set to end this week.
Kishida’s win is not “the end of a catalyst, but the setup for several more positive drivers,” wrote Mark Haefele, the chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management in a Sept. 30 note. “As general election campaigning kicks off, Kishida will likely focus on more specific spending pledges, revealing potential sector beneficiaries.”
Longer term, Kishida will need to signal when Japan should shift its focus back to balancing the budget. Kishida has sounded hawkish on the government’s debt in the past, even broaching the idea that another hike in the sales tax might eventually be needed to generate revenue, although he’s said it wouldn’t be this decade.
While investors might not be overly excited by a continuity administration, in an election year, stability might be a good thing. Japan’s stocks lagged other markets for much of this year amid concern that the unpopularity of outgoing prime minister Yoshihide Suga might cause the LDP to lose seats in this autumn’s general election.
Kishida’s leadership should ensure a solid victory, said John Vail, the chief global strategist at Nikko Asset Management Co.
“This should lead to hopes for the cabinet’s longevity, which consumers, corporations and investors should view positively,” Vail wrote in a note Wednesday.
Kishida, however, is not Abenomics 2.0. He’s said Japan needs to narrow the wealth gap that widened under the market-friendly policies of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where wage gains lagged rising asset prices.
He has dangled the idea of a “new type of Japanese capitalism,” favoring redistribution and wage increases, but has been vague on details of how he’ll get it done.
Still, economists don’t see Kishida pressuring the Bank of Japan to change tack anytime soon, as he’s been vocal in his support of the bank’s aggressive easing and its 2% inflation target.
One key decision Kishida faces is whether to replace long-serving finance minister Taro Aso, who’s held the powerful post in the nearly nine years of the Abe and Suga administrations. Kishida said Wednesday he wanted his Cabinet to skew younger than Suga’s did, while Aso turned 81 earlier this month.
Should he last longer than Suga, an equally big decision looms with Haruhiko Kuroda’s term as BOJ governor set to expire in early 2023.
Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose for a third straight week, potentially a sign of worsening labor-market conditions as well as choppiness in weekly data.
Initial unemployment claims in regular state programs rose to 362,000 in the week ended Sept. 25, led by another surge in California, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a decrease to 330,000 new applications.
Continuing claims for state benefits fell to 2.8 million in the week ended Sept. 18.
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The increase likely underscores swings in weekly data as employers are desperate to hire more workers and hang onto the ones they still have. Claims are also still hovering near pandemic lows.
That said, the last time there were three consecutive weeks of rising unemployment claims was April 2020, though those increases were significantly larger.
WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said lawmakers should abolish the legal limit on how much treasury can borrow to meet the federal governments payment obligations, pushing lawmakers to eliminate the potential threat of a U.S. default.
Speaking to the House Financial Services Committee, Yellen said the current debt ceiling law can prove “very destructive” by creating a legal debt limit that has to be raised separate from what Congress has already ordered the federal government to spend. Treasury is currently running out of “emergency measures” to pay its obligations after the most recent suspension of the debt ceiling lapsed in August.
Congressional Republicans have refused to help Democrats raise or suspend the borrowing limit even though they supported lifting the borrowing cap during the Trump administration.
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“When Congress legislates expenditures and puts in place tax policy that determines taxes, those are the crucial decisions Congress is making,” Yellen told Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill. “If to finance those spending and tax decisions, it’s necessary to issue additional debt, I believe it’s very destructive to put the president and myself – the treasury secretary – in a situation where we might not be able to pay the bills that result from those past decisions.”
Yellen’s new statements about abolishing the debt limit come as Treasury officials have instructed federal agencies to review their spending estimates for October, two administration officials familiar with the matter said, as the U.S. government is increasingly at risk of running out of cash to meet its payment obligations. Officials in Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service have told federal agencies to scrutinize their estimates for outgoing expenditures and incoming revenue to ensure they are as precise as possible for October, the officials said. Should Congress fail to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, Yellen has said that the U.S. will by Oct. 18 run out of flexibility to ensure it meets all of its payments.
The request from treasury officials underscores the administration’s concerns about the debt ceiling cliff, as congressional Republicans have refused to help Democrats avoid a likely national or international financial calamity.
Yellen and treasury officials have stressed that it is highly difficult to estimate the precise “X Date” at which point Treasury will have exhausted its “emergency measures” and no longer be able to guarantee it can cover payments. Breaching the debt ceiling could lead to a cessation or reduction of critical government payments – like Social Security for millions of U.S. seniors – or a default on U.S. debt. Treasury officials want to have the best possible sense of how much money they are expecting the U.S. agencies to take in and spend in the following weeks, given that a miscalculation of no consequence in normal budget times could throw off their cash balance estimates at this critical juncture.
“It’s more important than ever that this is right,” said one senior administration official, who like the other spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal processes.
A Treasury spokesman said in a statement that it is standard for the department to be in close communication with agencies, including when Congress is debating how to handle the debt limit.
“As this process moves forward, the Treasury Department will continue to engage with agencies to ensure we have the most up to date information on expenditures and cash balances,” the statement said.
Congress is now planning a vote on Thursday with just hours to spare to avert was a shutdown of the federal government. But the measure to suspend the debt ceiling standoff removed has been from that legislation. Congressional Republicans have been adamant that Democrats approve the debt ceiling increase with no GOP votes. Democrats have criticized that approach, given that 97% of U.S. debt was accrued before President Joe Biden took office.
Bitcoin is ending the third quarter on a high note, staging its first rally in four days, and technicians are scouring the charts to see if it can sustain the nascent advance.
Bitcoin’s Thursday gain saw it bouncing off its 100-day moving average line and the coin looks to be forming a base around $40,000. Those are two developments that many chartists would consider positives. Its next test is the 50-day line, which currently sits around $46,500. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a Congressional hearing Thursday that he had “no intention” on banning cryptocurrencies. He did, however, add that stablecoins might be appropriate for regulation.
In addition, the MACD signal — or the moving average convergence divergence gauge — looks to have stabilized and is now curling upward, which suggest its recent negative trend is in the process of deteriorating.
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“When you get something that’s been down several days in a row, it doesn’t take much to give it a little bit of a relief rally, and that’s I think what we’re getting,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co.
Thursday saw Bitcoin gain as much as 6.6%, with the coin touching $43,826. Other digital assets also advanced, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index adding 7.2% at one point.
Still, Bitcoin is down about 8% in September, which has historically been a tough month for the digital asset. Over the last decade, September is the only month when Bitcoin has failed to deliver positive returns. The coin fell during the calendar month in six of the previous 10 years, losing more than 6% on average, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Bitcoin was hit on multiple fronts during the month, including a botched roll-out of the coin as legal tender in El Salvador and tightening of regulatory oversights in the U.S. and China.
The crackdowns in China and the U.S. “caused a decrease in AUM for digital asset investment products,” said a CryptoCompare report. But “a rise in volumes in September coupled with positive weekly inflows for the first time in 3 months suggests there could be upside going into the last quarter of 2021.”
The digital asset is up 25% for the quarter, compared with a drop of 41% in the prior three months.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,605.68 on Thursday, down 11.30 points or 0.70 per cent. Transactions totalled 90.65 billion baht with an index high of 1,621.15 and a low of 1,601.79.
The index fell after rising slightly by 0.03 per cent on Wednesday.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities expected Thursday’s index to fluctuate between 1,610 and 1,630 points due to a lack of fresh positive sentiment.
It said the index is under pressure amid rising US inflation and the Federal Reserve signalling it will taper its quantitative easing programme and raise the interest rate sooner than expected.
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“However, mass buy-ups of stocks enjoying specific positive sentiment, plus hope of Thailand reopening after a decline in domestic Covid-19 infections, would help boost the index,” Krungsri Securities said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, GUNKUL, SCB, TRUE, UBE, PTT, AOT, BBL, DELTA and PTTEP.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,452.66, down 91.63 points or 0.31 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 3,568.17, up 31.87 points or 0.90 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,309.01, up 229.99 points or 1.63 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,575.64, down 87.86 points or 0.36 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed at 3,068.82, up 8.55 points or 0.28 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX closed at 16,934.77, up 79.31 points or 0.47 per cent.
A 9.30am report from the Gold Traders Association showed the buying price of gold bar at THB27,750 per baht weight and selling price at THB27,850, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB27,257.68 and THB28,350, respectively.
At close on Wednesday, the buying price of gold bar was THB27,800 per baht weight and selling price THB27,900, while gold ornaments were THB27,303.16 and THB28,400, respectively.
The spot gold price on Thursday morning was hovering around US$1,733 (THB58,800) per ounce after Comex gold at close on Wednesday dropped by $14.6 to $1,722.9 per ounce. The price of gold has dropped in two consecutive days due to pressure from the appreciation of the US dollar.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 0.19 points or 0.01 per cent to 1,617.17 on Thursday morning, witnessing a high of 1,621.15 points and a low of 1,615.62 in opening trade.
Krungsri Securities predicted the day’s index would fluctuate between 1,610 and 1,630 points due to a lack of any new positive sentiment.
It said the index is currently under pressure due to uncertainty over rising US inflation and the Federal Reserve signalling it would taper its quantitative easing and raise the interest rate sooner than expected.
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“However, mass buy-ups of stocks that gained specific positive sentiment and hopes over Thailand reopening after a decline in domestic Covid-19 infections would help boost the index,” Krungsri Securities said.
It recommended purchasing the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy:
▪︎ Hana, KCE, TU, CPF, GFPT, Asian, NER, Sun and APure, which benefit from a weakening baht.
▪︎ Banpu, Lanna, DCC, Cotto and Tasco, which gained specific positive sentiment.
▪︎ PSL and TTA, which would benefit from a rise in the freight rate.
The SET Index closed at 1,616.98 on Wednesday, up 0.48 points or 0.03 per cent. Transactions totalled THB93.11 billion with an index high of 1,622.62 and a low of 1,604.46.
The baht opened at 33.94 to the US dollar on Thursday, weakening from Wednesday’s closing rate of 33.86.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.85 and 34.05 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
Poon said the baht would not strengthen in the short term as there are risk factors, especially the dollar’s momentum as it strengthens due to the demand for safe-haven assets.
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He felt the key resistance level would be 34.00 to the dollar if there is no risk factor facing the country that would pressure the baht. The Thai currency could reach its next resistance level of 34.25 if it weakens, he maintained.
Poon said the strengthening of the dollar might slow down as the market takes more risks in step with an economic recovery, which would help the baht to strengthen again.
However, even then the Thai currency will not strengthen much until investors believe the economy is clearly improving. The key support level for the baht would be from 33.40 to 33.60 per dollar, Poon added.
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