The price of gold dropped sharply by Bt500 per baht weight in morning trade on Tuesday after the price was unchanged at close on Monday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.28am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,250 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,350, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,772 and Bt26,850, respectively.
At close on Monday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,750 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,850, while gold ornaments were Bt26,272.28 and Bt27,350, respectively.
Spot gold price moved to US$1,829 (Bt55,628) per ounce in the morning, while Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December dropped sharply by $34.6 to $1,837.8 per ounce on Monday due to mass sell-offs in safe-haven assets in response to positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Hong Kong gold price meanwhile dropped by HK$340 to $16,970 (Bt66,567) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Kamaron Leach · BUSINESS
U.S. stocks climbed as investors piled into companies that will benefit most from a return to normal economic activity. Tech shares lagged behind, while gold slumped.
The S&P 500 briefly extended gains on news that Joe Biden will nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to be Treasury Secretary. She recently said the recovery will be uneven and lackluster if Congress doesn’t spend more to fight unemployment and keep small businesses afloat.
“The market would view Janet Yellen’s appointment as market-friendly. At the very least, she is likely to work well with Chair Powell,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.
The Nasdaq 100 was little changed, while the Russell 2000 of smaller companies jumped almost 2%. AstraZeneca Plc became the latest firm to deliver positive vaccine developments, bolstering demand for cruise-line operators and airlines. Small caps are up about 18% in November, on track for the best month ever.
Vaccine successes lately have added to a risk-on mood in markets and investors have snapped up assets that could benefit from the end of lockdowns and travel restrictions even as the virus rages across the nation. Investors have also started to anticipate Congress will again deliver a spending bill to stave off the economic effects of new restrictions aimed at slowing the virus.
“In the short-term, anything is possible and from a humanitarian perspective it is awful that the people who currently need the most help are not getting it,” said Jonathan Boyar, managing director at Boyar Value Group. “But with multiple viable vaccines on the horizon, I think the market will largely look through the horrible headlines. There certainly, however, will be some fits and starts along the way.”
U.S. vaccinations against covid-19 will “hopefully” start in less than three weeks, said Moncef Slaoui, head of the government’s Operation Warp Speed, on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration is meeting on Dec. 10 to discuss emergency use authorizations.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.6% as of 4 p.m. EST.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.3%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2%.
– The euro declined 0.2% to $1.1839.
– The Japanese yen depreciated 0.6% to 104.50 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys climbed three basis points to 0.85%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to -0.58%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.318%.
Commodities
– The Bloomberg Commodity Index was little changed.
– West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.2% to $42.94 a barrel.
The Cabinet on Monday approved in principle the establishment of an institute for research and development of railway track systems, said government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.
The institute will be set up as a public organisation under the Transport Ministry.
It will determine strategy and propose policies for development of rail track systems, and set directions for R&D, human resource development and technology transfer.
The aim was to reduce Thailand’s reliance on foreign technology, said the spokesman.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) rose back above 1,400 points on Monday after investors were buoyed by Standard & Poor (S&P)’s decision to keep Thailand’s sovereign credit rating at BBB+, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said on Monday.
Improvement in the domestic political situation had also boosted the SET, he said, adding that investors would gain more confidence if the turmoil ends peacefully.
The SET Index closed at 1,420.43 on Monday, up 31.09 points or 2.24 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt105 billion with an index high of 1,422.43 and a low of 1,395.58.
However, he said the government should postpone reducing the Covid-19 self-isolation period from 14 days to 10 days until the end of this year because of the surge in cases abroad.
Thais should compensate for the lack of foreign tourists by travelling more within the country, he added.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,420.43 on Monday, up 31.09 points or 2.24 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt105 billion with an index high of 1,422.43 and a low of 1,395.58.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to rise to between 1,380 and 1,400 on foreign inflows after overseas investors made net buys in Thai stocks of Bt5.7 billion last week.
“However, the index will be at risk of dropping sharply after its sharp rise of over 200 points in three weeks and an increase in price-to-earnings ratio of 2.3 compared to the average over the previous three years,” he warned.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were PTT, KBANK, ADVANC, PTTEP, MINT, AOT, GPSC, GULF, CPALL and SCGP.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.81 or 1.91 per cent to $43.23 per barrel, while gold dropped by $3.60 or 0.19 per cent, to $1,868.80 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were on the rise:
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,414.49, up 36.76 points or 1.09 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,955.28, up 102.87 points or 0.74 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,486.20, up 34.66 points or 0.13 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,602.59, up 49.09 points or 1.92 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 13,878.01, up 161.57 points or 1.18 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei Index was closed for Labour Thanksgiving Day.
National oil and gas conglomerate PTT aims to set up as many as 100 charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) within 2021.
PTT has closely monitored the interest in EVs and has studied the feasibility of the investment with its expert partner, PTT’s chief financial officer Pannalin Mahawongtikul said.
She said that though there are not that many EVs in Thailand, PTT wants to be prepared and upgrade existing technology so it will only take about 15 to 20 minutes to charge a vehicle.
PTT currently has about 30 charging stations.
The conglomerate is also attaching importance to energy storage technology, because once EV become commonplace, efficient storage will be crucial for growth.
Delta Electronics (Thailand) (DELTA), Bangkok Commercial Asset Management (BAM) and Com7 (COM7) are expected to be listed in the SET50 Index next year, experts said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) usually announces stocks that will be listed in the SET50 and SET100 indices twice a year, and the list is normally officially released the month before. For instance, the listing of the abovementioned companies will be announced mid-next month and will go into effect from January next year.
An analyst at Asia Plus Securities said before SET’s announcement goes into effect, stocks that will be listed in the SET50 Index should generate average returns of 5.8 per cent, while stocks that will be listed in the SET100 Index should generate average returns of 0.6 per cent.
DELTA, which was recently listed in MSCI Global Standard, has been doing really well thanks to the change in people’s behaviour after the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as 5G technology and growth in the electric vehicle industry.
Asset-management firm BAM, meanwhile, has been benefiting from a rise in non-performing loans amid the economic crisis. Apart from this, the company is also getting ready to run new businesses to diversify risks and boost revenue, such as going into joint ventures with banks to manage debts and cooperating with real-estate companies to develop vacant land.
COM7’s stock price rose sharply thanks to the work-from-home trend in the fallout of Covid-19 despite the temporary closure of stores in the second quarter. In the second half of this year, COM7 also gained from Apple’s move to launch iPhone 12 before yearend and the government’s “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” (Shop and Payback) scheme launched to boost spending during the festive season.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 10.93 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 1,400.27 in the morning session on Monday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to rise to between 1,380 and 1,400 from foreign funds inflows after they made net-buys in Thai stocks of Bt5.7 billion last week.
“However, the index would be at risk of dropping sharply as it has risen by over 200 points within three weeks and its price to earnings ratio has risen by 2.3 standard deviation compared to the average value in the previous three years,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ KTB, LH, SIRI and SPRC that benefit from the ongoing Covid-19 vaccine development.
▪︎ AMATA, WHA, SAT, AH, and RCL that will benefit from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact.
The SET Index closed at 1,389.34 on Friday, up 19.92 points or 1.45 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt90.57 billion with an index high of 1,390.37 and a low of 1,368.20.
The price of gold was unchanged in morning trade on Monday after rising by Bt50 per baht weight at close on Saturday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.27am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,750 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,850 while gold ornaments were priced at Bt26,272.28 and Bt27,350, respectively.
The Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December rose by US$10.9, or 0.59 per cent, closing at $1,872.4 (Bt56,683) per ounce on Friday. Gold dropped by 0.7 in the previous week.
The price closed in positive territory from mass buy-ups in safe-haven assets, as the US is set to launch fresh economic stimulus measures soon.
The price of gold in Hong Kong rose by HK$50 to $17,320 (Bt67,627) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
A probe by the Department of Business Development has turned up five juristic entities suspected of using local nominees to illegally help foreigners invest in Thailand this year.
Director-general Thosapone Dansuputra said the probe covered tourism, property and hotel businesses in Thailand’s key tourism provinces of Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Surat Thani, Petchaburi, Prachuab Kirikan, Bangkok and Chonburi.
Thai nominees are often used by foreigners to do business or hold stakes in companies in Thailand, thereby breaching the Foreign Business Act, BE2542 (1999).
Of the five suspected cases, two are in the tourism sector and three in property businesses. Four are in Chonburi and one is in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
The department has forwarded its findings for further investigation by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
Breaches of the Foreign Business Act are punished with up to three years in jail and/or a fine of Bt100,000 to Bt1 million.
Supattanapong Punmeechaow 
SootinClaimon.Com 