The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 12.75 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 1,349.59 this morning (August 13).
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise between 1,345 and 1,350 before falling as Russia claimed to have successfully developed a Covid-19 vaccine, while the price of oil rose more than US$42 (Bt1,305) per barrel.
However, the analyst said the index would be under pressure from uncertainty following a planned $1-trillion US economic stimulus package, and US-China trade negotiations this Saturday.
The SET Index closed at 1,336.84 on Tuesday, up 14.83 points, or 1.12 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt71.98 billion, with an index high of 1,343.16 and a low of 1,332.24 points.
The analyst recommended that investors buy:
> Stocks whose second-quarter performance will improve, such as SPRC, BGrim, CPF, STA, STGT, AJ, JMT, Chayo, PTG and BCH.
> Energy stocks that benefit from the rising crude oil price, such as PTT, PTTEP, Top, PTTGC, SPRC and IVL.
> Tourism and hotel stocks that benefit from news of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, such as AOT, Mint, Centel and ERW.
The price of gold was unchanged in morning trade today (August 13), the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.33am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt28,300 per baht weight and selling price Bt28,400, while gold ornaments cost Bt27,788.28 and Bt28,900, respectively.
At close yesterday, the gold price dropped by Bt850 per baht weight due to high volatility, causing the price to change as many as 42 times.
The Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December rose by US$2.7, or 0.14 per cent, to $1,949 (Bt60,491.17) per ounce at yesterday’s close.
The gold price closed in positive territory as investors purchased the metal after a sharp price drop on Tuesday. Besides, gold contracts gained positive sentiment from the weakening dollar.
Association chairman Jitti Tangsitpakdee said yesterday that in the short term, the gold price could drop further as foreign funds begin to sell the metal for profit in response to news that Russia has developed and is exporting its Covid-19 vaccine.
“Although there were mass gold buy-ups in Asian markets, investors should closely monitor the situation caused by mutual funds selling gold,” he said.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Vildana Hajric, Claire Ballentine · BUSINESS, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS U.S. stocks briefly surpassed the all-time closing high reached before the coronavirus pandemic, propelled by surging technology shares. Gold rebounded, the dollar weakened and Treasury yields rose to five-week highs.
The S&P 500 climbed as high as 1.6%, topping the 3,386.15 level reached on Feb. 19, and capping the more than 50% rally since the market lows in March. The record intraday high of 3,393.52 was set the same day. Ten of the benchmark index’s 11 industry sectors rose Wednesday, led by technology, health care and consumer discretionary shares. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed the S&P as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. jumped. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose for a fourth day.
“The main force that’s been driving markets the last few weeks has really been momentum,” said Kevin Caron, portfolio manager for Washington Crossing. “We’ve got a market that’s focused on the good case outcome for the virus, we’ve got a market that has taken a great deal of comfort in that fiscal policy is going to be there to support an economy through tough times.”
Treasury yields dropped from the highs of the day after the government’s sale of $38 billion in 10-year notes attracted stronger-than-forecast demand.
Silver joined gold in rebounding, as investors decided the flight from precious metals driven by advancing bond yields had gone too far.
“It was just a matter of time. Once we hit 3,300, I think everybody knew we’d get to the new record before long,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “The question is whether we’ll rally further now that we’ve got it. I think we’ll take a breather now that we’ve reached the new high, which would actually be quite healthy.”
After setting a new peak on Friday above $2,070 an ounce, bullion had since tumbled as much as 10%. Crude futures posted a five-month high in New York trading after an industry report pointed to a third straight weekly drop in American crude stockpiles.
Elsewhere, Europe’s corporate bond spreads narrowed to their tightest since early March, just a few basis points off pre-virus levels, according to a Bloomberg Barclays index.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index jumped 1.4% to 3,380.35 as of 4:01 p.m. EDT, the highest in about six months on the largest surge in more than five weeks.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 1% to 27,976.69, the highest in almost six months.
The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.1% to 11,012.24, the largest increase in more than three weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 1.2% to 570.82, the highest in almost six months on the biggest surge in more than five weeks.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to 1,179.14, the largest fall in a week.
The euro gained 0.4% to $1.1788, the biggest advance in a week.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.4% to 106.89 per dollar, the weakest in three weeks.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasurys climbed two basis points to 0.66%, the highest in more than five weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to -0.45%, the highest in four weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to 0.237%, the highest in almost eight weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude increased 2.3% to $42.56 a barrel, the highest in about five months on the largest climb in more than three weeks.
Gold was little changed at $1,911.27 an ounce, the weakest in almost three weeks.
New Finance Minister Predee Daochai is expected to deliver his policies for implementation by the ministry’s high-ranking officials soon, said a ministry source.
Predee earlier held an informal meeting with them to discuss the economic situation and his plan to launch additional stimulus packages, the source added.
Fiscal Policy Office director-general Lavaron Sangsnit said some economic indicators were positive after April and showed that domestic consumption recovered after the lockdown was eased.
However, sectors such as exports and tourism have yet to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels and are in need of continued support from the government, he added.
Meanwhile, Energy Ministry permanent secretary Kulit Sirisombat is ready to propose the ministry’s plans to new minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow after Supattanapong takes office tomorrow (August 13).
Among the ministry’s plans are liberalisation of the natural gas sector, construction of grassroots power plants, and revision of the 2018 plans for power development, for alternative energy development, and for gas.
Supattanapong has said he might adjust rules for the grassroots power plant project and will also announce his own new policies, Kulit said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Mineral Fuels will also propose a plan to invite private firms to enter the new round of bidding for petroleum exploration and production rights.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Claire Ballentine, Katherine Greifeld · BUSINESS, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS U.S. stocks turned sharply lower in the final hour of trading as investors sold some of the rally’s biggest winners amid concern a spending package from Washington is not imminent.
The S&P 500 fell for the first time in eight trading sessions, with some traders citing comments from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying stimulus talks are at a stalemate as a catalyst. The Nasdaq 100 fell for a third day. Treasury yields jumped before this week’s debt auctions and gold tumbled the most in seven years.
“There’s some profit taking going on, they’re looking to rotate into some of the stuff that hasn’t performed as well,” said Keith Gangl, portfolio manager for Gradient Investments.
A broad rally from industrial goods to health-care shares sent the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to its best increase in a week. Adding to the earlier optimism was President Donald Trump announcement Monday that he’s considering a tax cut on capital gains, as well as rising hopes for an effective Covid-19 vaccine.
“It seems like a market in the final stages of a rally where investors try and play catch up in the highest beta/most cyclical areas, such as small caps, energy, financials, industrials,” said Sameer Samana, Wells Fargo Investment’s senior global market strategist. “It is a risk-on market, but with a slightly different flavor than the one we saw while real rates and the dollar were declining.”
Elsewhere, the resignation of Lebanon’s government after the devastating explosion in Beirut threatened to upend prospects of a debt restructuring deal in the next few months.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.8% to 3,333.76 as of 4:01 p.m. EDT, the first retreat in more than a week and the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.4% to 27,688.29, the first retreat in more than a week.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 1.7% to 10,782.82, the lowest in more than a week on the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
The MSCI All-Country World Index decreased 0.1% to 563.77.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,181.46, the highest in a week.
The euro was little changed at $1.1733, the weakest in almost two weeks.
The Japanese yen depreciated 0.5% to 106.54 per dollar, the weakest in more than two weeks on the largest fall in more than a week.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasurys climbed four basis points to 0.63%, the highest in more than three weeks on the biggest surge in more than two months.
Germany’s 10-year yield jumped five basis points to -0.48%, the highest in more than two weeks on the largest surge in almost six weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield jumped seven basis points to 0.2%, the highest in five weeks on the biggest surge in more than four months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1% to $41.49 a barrel.
Gold depreciated 5.4% to $1,916.58 an ounce, the weakest in more than two weeks on the biggest tumble in more than seven years.
The Thai National Shippers’ Council yesterday asked the Bank of Thailand to seek ways of relieving pressure on exports from the rising baht.
Council vice chairman Visit Limluecha said he had discussed the matter with central bank governor Veerathai Santiprabhob, adding that the strengthening baht is hurting the competitiveness of Thai exports.
He said the council did not specify an appropriate level for the baht value and did not ask the central bank to interfere with its value.
He also asked the bank to relax conditions for its soft loan programme so as to widen access to credit for small business operators.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,336.84 today (August 11), up 14.83 points or 1.12 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt71.983 billion with an index high of 1,343.16 and a low of 1,332.24.
In the morning session, a stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise between 1,330 and 1,335, before falling, in response to hopes US Congress will agree on a $1-trillion economic stimulus package this week.
“Also, the market gained positive sentiment from a rise in the oil price which climbed back above US$42 per barrel,” he said.
However, the analyst said the index would be under pressure from escalating US-China tensions after Beijing imposed sanctions on US lawmakers in retaliation for Washington slapping sanctions on 11 Hong Kong and Chinese officials.
“Meanwhile, we expect investors to hold off making deals while they follow US-China trade negotiations on August 15 and assess the progress of the first phase of their trade agreement, while the SET will be closed on Wednesday for Mother’s Day,” he said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were AOT, MINT, PTT, KBANK, NER, ADVANC, TU, STGT, PTTEP and SCB.
As of 4.30pm, the price of crude oil rose by US$0.54 or 1.29 per cent to $42.48 per barrel, while gold dropped by $36.10 or 1.77 per cent, to $2,003.60 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 22,750.24, up 420.30 points, or 1.88 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,340.29, down 38.96 points, or 1.15 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,466.27, down 191.05 points, or 1.40 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,890.68, up 513.25 points, or 2.11 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,418.67, up 32.29 points, or 1.35 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 12,780.19, down 113.81 points, or 0.88 per cent.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 11.74 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 1,333.75 on Tuesday morning (August 11).
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise between 1,330 and 1,335, before falling, in response to hopes of a $1-trillion US economic stimulus package as investors expected US lawmakers to reach an agreement by this week.
“Also, the market gained positive sentiment from the rising oil price as the price climbed to over US$42 per barrel again,” he said.
However, the analyst said the index would be under pressure from the escalating US-China conflict after China imposed sanctions on US lawmakers in response to the US imposition of sanctions on 11 Hong Kong and Chinese officials.
“Meanwhile, we expect investors to delay trading to follow US-China trade negotiations on August 15 to assess the progress of the first phase of the trade agreement, while the SET will be closed on Wednesday for Mother’s Day,” he said.
The SET Index dropped 2.39 points, or 0.18 per cent, closing at 1,322.01 on Monday. The total transactions amounted to Bt37.417 billion with an index high of 1,330.17 and a low of 1,321.90.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ Stocks whose second-quarter performance will improve, such as SPRC, BGRIM, CPF, TU, STA, STGT, AP, PRM, PTL, AJ, JMT, CHAYO, PTG and BCH.
▪︎ Electronic stocks that benefit from work from home, 5G trends and weaken baht, such as KCE, DELTA, HANA and SVI.
The price of gold dropped by Bt200 per baht weight in the morning trade on Tuesday (August 11), the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.30am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt29,600 per baht weight and selling price Bt29,700, while gold ornaments cost Bt29,061.72 and Bt30,200, respectively.
At close on Monday (August 10), the buying price of a gold bar was Bt29,800 per baht weight and selling price Bt29,900, while gold ornaments cost Bt29,258.80 and Bt30,400, respectively.
The Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December rose by US$11.7 or 0.58 per cent to $2,039.7 (Bt63,475.84) per ounce at yesterday’s close.
Gold price, however, closed positive due to investors buying gold as a safe-haven asset due to uncertainty following the US-China tensions.
Meanwhile, gold contracts gained positive sentiment from hopes of the US Congress and the White House reaching an agreement on a US$1-trillion stimulus package within this week.
The Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society has revealed that the Hong Kong gold price dropped by HK$140, opening at $18,650 (Bt74,893.72) per tael this morning.
Regulator anxious to hear new energy minister’s plans
EconAug 11. 2020Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.
By The Nation
The Energy Regulatory Commission said it will meet with new Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow soon to learn about his plans and policies.
The commission was anxious to hear Supattanapong’s plans for the policies of his predecessor, notably liberalisation of the natural gas market and the programme to construct grassroots power plants, said commission chairman Samerjai Suksumek. Also of interest is whether the new minister will revise the power development plan.
The commission recently awarded licences to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to three private firms – Gulf Energy Development, Hin Kong Power Holding Co (HKH) and B Grimm LNG. The firms are now waiting for the National Energy Policy Committee to give the go-ahead to import LNG.
Predee Daochai
Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.
SootinClaimon.Com 