Krungsri Securities forecast the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Friday (December 17) would fluctuate between 1,635-1,660 points.
It said the index gained positive sentiment from US Federal Reserve’s move to maintain interest rate and taper its quantitative easing programme as many investors expected.
“However, uncertainty over the Covid-19 outbreak in Europe and fund flow volatility due to the resistance level at 1,660 points would pressure the index,” Krungsri Securities said.
It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy:
▪︎ AWC, BANPU and HANA, which would be listed in SET50 Index.
▪︎ BLA, BPP, EPG, KEX, RCL, SIRI, STARK and TTA, which would be listed in SET100 Index.
▪︎ EA, GPSC, AMATA, WHA, AH and SAT, which benefit from the government’s support on electric vehicles.
▪︎ BBL, TTB, KTB and KBANK, which benefit from news of interest rate hike.
A rout in some of the worlds biggest technology companies dragged down the broader equity market, outweighing gains in companies that stand to benefit the most from an economic rebound.
The S&P 500 fell after earlier climbing on bets that central banks can move toward tighter policies to fight inflation without derailing the economy. The Nasdaq 100 tumbled, led by losses in giants like Apple and Tesla. Commodity, financial and industrial shares rose. European equities jumped as the region’s policy makers unveiled a gradual pullback of pandemic stimulus, while the pound gained as the Bank of England unexpectedly raised rates. Bitcoin slumped.
Central banks are weighing measures to fight price pressures while balancing risks to growth amid coronavirus challenges. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde unveiled forecasts showing a strong economic rebound along with an outlook for faster inflation. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will accelerate the pace at which it tapers bond purchases, and projected rate hikes through 2024.
Comments:
– “Bitcoin and big tech are getting punished today as investors reallocate some of their more profitable risky bets. The growth outlook still remains upbeat for next year” with some traders rotating back into cyclicals, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.
– “While we expect increased stock market volatility as the Federal Reserve embarks on normalizing policy, equity markets should end the year higher as the economy still remains strong, which should lead to continued earnings growth,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners.
– “I do think that central banks are being reactive, which is good. If inflation does start to moderate as these major central banks are still expecting, we may actually expect some turn in the policy direction in the later part of next year,” said Janet Mui, investment director at Brewin Dolphin.
Corporate highlights:
– Adobe Inc. forecast revenue for the first fiscal quarter and full year 2022 that fell short of analysts estimates.
– Delta Air Lines Inc. projected it will report a profit this quarter, citing strong demand for travel and a decline in jet-fuel prices.
– Reddit Inc., the social-media platform that helped fuel this year’s meme stock frenzy, said it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering.
– Air France-KLM agreed to buy 100 single-aisle planes from Airbus in another major order setback for Boeing — which had supplied aircraft the new jets will replace.
Stocks:
– The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 1:04 p.m. New York time.
– The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.2%.
– The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.
– The MSCI World index was little changed.
Currencies:
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%.
– The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1319.
– The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3316.
– The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 113.62 per dollar.
Bonds:
– The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.42%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.35%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.76%.
Commodities:
– West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.2% to $72.42 a barrel.
The Bank of England unexpectedly raised interest rates for the first time in three years, setting aside concerns over a surge in coronavirus infections to tackle the highest inflation in more than a decade.
The first major central bank to hike its benchmark since the pandemic began opted to lift borrowing costs by 15 basis points to 0.25%, delivering an increase that no other Group of Seven central bank has made since the start of the crisis.
The pound rallied as much as 0.8% while U.K. 10-year yields jumped 5 basis points after the decision. Traders now see the BOE’s key rate rising to 1% by September. The FTSE 100 stock index pared gains.
“Another hike in February of 25 basis points is well in the cards,” said Fabrice Montagne, chief U.K. economist at Barclays. “If delivered, the MPC would also be in a position to start running down its balance sheet with bonds starting to mature out of its portfolio in early March.”
Markets are current pricing in another 20 basis points of increases in February — implying an around 80% chance of a move to 0.5% at that meeting. That would allow the BOE to immediately bring an end to its policy of reinvesting its expired QE bond holdings, allowing as much as 37 billion pounds of government debt to roll off its balance sheet by the end of 2022.
Officials led by Governor Andrew Bailey voted 8-1 for the increase, with Silvana Tenreyro dissenting in favor of no change. Policy makers said more “modest” tightening is likely to be needed as inflation heads toward a peak likely to be around 6% in April.
“Worries about inflation trumped concerns about omicron at the Bank of England’s December meeting. The move is a gamble — it’s possible the economy will shrug off the new variant of Covid-19, but no one knows for sure. Assuming the virus doesn’t slow the economy materially, we expect the next move in May, although there’s a small risk the BOE hikes again in February,” Dan Hanson of Bloomberg Economics wrote.
While the decision surprised investors, it was consistent Bailey’s guidance. In October, he signaled that rates would need to rise to address inflation. Later, he set out his concerns that markets seemed to think that policy makers were prioritizing growth over their inflation-fighting remit.
In a speech earlier this month, Ben Broadbent, the deputy governor, added that the BOE’s job was to focus on the medium-term risks. The decision to raise rates in the context of surging inflation and flagging growth is a clear statement of the BOE’s priorities. The focus on medium term price risks over the impact of omicron, which is likely to be short term, is consistent with Broadbent’s stance.
The U.S. Federal Reserve already set a hawkish tone on the eve of the BOE announcement by signaling three rate hikes next year and accelerating the wind down of its stimulus program, while Norway kept up its own tightening effort on Thursday with its second increase this year.
The BOE’s precipitous shift into tightening mode will surprise the large majority of economists who anticipated no change, and investors who were pricing in around a 40% chance of a move. The outcome was the second in a row featuring a surprise after November’s decision to stay on hold wrong-footed financial markets.
“The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates was surprising given mounting uncertainty over the economic impact of the Omicron variant,” said Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce. “While today’s rate increase may have little effect on most firms, many will view this as the first step in a longer policy movement.”
The BOE hike is a response to the danger posed by surging prices gains, with a report this week showing inflation jumped to 5.1% in November — more than double the central bank’s target — and a separate report Tuesday showing U.K. companies added to payrolls at a record pace.
Considering that backdrop, Goldman Sachs Chief European Economist Jari Stehn told Bloomberg Television just hours earlier that an outcome of no change was “not a done deal,” even though it was his main expectation.
The decision to move now is all the more remarkable since the country is in the grips of a new coronavirus wave driven by the more infectious omicron variant, which has pushed daily case loads in the U.K. to the highest recorded total since the pandemic began.
The danger that poses in potentially overwhelming the country’s health services is such that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has reintroduced some curbs on activity, with more possible in coming days and weeks if the outbreak can’t be quelled.
By moving now, the BOE heeded a warning this week from the International Monetary Fund, which cautioned against policy inaction on inflation.
The increase is the first from the BOE since 2018 and comes a day after officials wrapped up their pandemic-era quantitative easing plan. The buying has left the central bank’s holdings of government bonds at 875 billion pounds ($1.2 trillion), from 435 billion pounds before the crisis hit.
The central has only hiked rates once in December in the past 45 years, and never since it was granted independence in 1997.
Outside of emergency actions during the pandemic, it’s also the first time officials have moved at a meeting that isn’t a so-called “Super Thursday”– the nickname for the quarterly events when the BOE simultaneously publishes its decision, minutes and forecasts — since they were introduced in 2015.
The European Central Bank on Thursday set out its plan to move on from emergency stimulus, saying it will expand its regular bond purchase for half a yera to smooth a transition toward phasing out its debt-buying program. Officials in Frankfurt confirmed their 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) pandemic measure, known as PEPP, will wind down as planned in March.
To cushion that halt in emergency purchases, they temporarily boosted their conventional bond-buying tool. President Christine Lagarde has been at pains however to persuade investors that a rate increase in the euro zone isn’t going to happen any time soon.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,645.32 on Thursday, up 21.66 points or 1.33 per cent. Transactions totalled 89.09 billion baht with an index high of 1,645.44 and a low of 1,624.31.
The index rose after falling by 6.98 points or 0.43 per cent on Wednesday.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were EA, KBANK, SCB, GULF, GPSC, AOT, GUNKUL, CPALL, JAS and KTB.
Other Asian indices were on the rise:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,066.32, up 606.60 points or 2.13 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,675.02, up 27.39 points or 0.75 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 15,112.81, up 86.60 points or 0.58 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,475.50, up 54.74 points or 0.23 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 3,006.41, up 17.02 points or 0.57 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,785.74, up 125.64 points or 0.71 per cent.
The price of gold rose by THB150 in morning trade on Thursday.
AGold Traders Association report at 9.25am said the buying price of a gold bar was THB28,100 per baht weight and selling price THB28,200, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB27,591.20 and THB28,700, respectively.
At close on Wednesday, the buying price of a gold bar was THB27,950per baht weight and selling price THB28,050, while gold ornaments were THB27,439.60 and THB28,550, respectively.
Comex gold at close on Wednesday dropped by US$7.8 or 0.44 per cent to $1,764.5 per ounce which is the lowest closing level since December 2.
The baht opened at 33.40 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening from Wednesday’s closing rate of 33.415.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.35 and 33.45 to the greenback during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
Poon said that the baht is likely to strengthen after investors knew the result of the US Federal Reserve meeting. The baht might strengthen because the dollar slightly weakened which will cause the gold price to go up.
Moreover, Poon said that he saw a sign that foreign investors are coming back to invest in the baht as they bought the short term bonds for 2.5 billion baht. They will not invest much more until they saw how mergers and acquisitions transactions at the end of this year go.
He added that the baht resistance level would be at 33.30 to the dollar while the support level would be at 33.50 which was the weakest level before the Fed meeting.
KING POWER CLICK & COLLECT—to unveil All stores ready to launch New Year festive campaigns.
KING POWER always stays top of world-class duty-free retailers. Adjusting to consumers’ behaviours at the sign of COVID-19 recovery and travelling beginning to resume, the new service –KING POWER CLICK & COLLECT— which allows customers to pick up their purchases at both arrival and departure terminals, will be unveiled on King Power’s online platforms. New year festive campaigns and activities will be launched at full force, while strictly following public health guidelines, to continually boost tourism-related businesses.
Mr. Apichate Srivaddhanaprabha, assistant to CEO and acting deputy-MD for marketing King Power Group, said that “as the country has now been open to tourists again since 1st November, we’ve seen more than a hundred thousand travellers entering Thailand. Coupling with tourism industry stimulus plans from all relevant sectors, it is promising that the dormant tourism businesses will gradually come back to life. It’s also imperative that we need to adhere strictly to public health protocols which will be mandatory to the new normal of travelling.
Such a positive sign prompts King Power group, as the global leader in travel-retail business, to launch new campaigns to boost Thailand’s tourism industry. From the moment travellers set foot in Thailand, they will enjoy several benefits that have been specially designed for them while making trips in the country. Thai travellers are also entitled to the same benefits. Some campaigns will start in the beginning of December, and more will follow suit in 2022, making the whole picture clearer.
Apart from these new services for travelling shoppers, through out December, King Power will transform all its stores into “the landmark of happiness” for the Christmas and New Year festive campaigns—KING POWER CELEBRATION 2022 : A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A SMILE, LIVE A LIFE BEYOND BOUNDARIES. Let’s make your smile shine even brighter. King Power is your only destination for the ultimate shopping, dining, and travelling experience. Now in store at King Power Rangnam, Srivaree, Pattaya and Phuket.
Drop the happiness pin! King Power Srivaree is back to service and now open on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. The store will be open for Christmas and New Year celebration.
Delivering happiness for this upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations, from 18 December 2021 to 3 January 2022, King Power is ready to welcome everyone to enjoy the new shopping campaign KING POWER CELEBRATION 2022 : A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A SMILE, LIVE A LIFE BEYOND BOUNDARIES.” Customers can enjoy brand name products conveniently delivered to their houses with even more benefits: a package of 3 discount vouchers valued 1,500/3,000/5,000 baht each for the purchase of products worth 6,000/10,000/15,000 baht respectively. And don’t forget to try your luck – every 5,000 bah purchase will give you one chance to enter the draw to win special gifts; and every 10,000 baht purchase will give you a chance to collect letter tokens which can be exchanged for gift vouchers of 10,000 baht maximum. Now, subscribe to King Power membership and receive the cash value of 1,500 baht in your SCARLET member account upon application and 6,000 baht top up. What’s more, customers are entitled to 500 baht free meal at THAI TASTE HUB Rangnam and THAI TASTE HUB@SRIVAREE after spending 10,000 baht at King Power.
The benefits don’t just stop there. There are more to enjoy at King Power Rangnam and Srivaree. With every 3,000 baht purchase, customers can join “A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS WITH A SMILE” activity. In this activity, customers can take a memorabilia picture which will be printed on iStamps or postcards and post them to their loved ones instantly. Or, with every 5,000 baht purchase, customers can enter the KING POWER ROLL DISPENSER activity. In this activity, customers will be given the KING POWER HAPPY BAG and the liberty to choose freely the snacks to be filled in the bag. Customers can personalised their bags using unique stickers containing touching messages of love, prayer and care, for their loved ones to make this special time of the year even more special. At the Crown Atrium King Power Rangnam, customers can take selfies in the Optical Illusions Booth which allows them to look at themselves in a new perspective—that is, upside down, seeing oneself braving the gravity at the semblance of walking on the ceiling. New shooting ideas are welcome!
And King Power Srivaree will be reopen on Saturday and Sunday 18-19, 25-26, 31 December 2021 and 1-3 January 2022. Apart from shopping, customers can savour the food from leading street food vendors at THAI TASTE HUB @SRIVAREE and try delicious desserts and coffee at CAFÉ LOVERS POP UP where famous cafés come together in one place for coffee aficionados to enjoy.
Even more special! Meet the Christmas classic show JAZZ SONGS TROOP – a re-enactment of New Orleans festival’s SECOND LINE PARADE. Be enchanted by the fluid rhythm of Jazz music, performed by the diva “Chan – Chaichaem Wannaphat”, a vocal coach and musical performer who gives voice to Mirabel, the leading character from Walt Disney’s 60th animation, and “June – Kumarika Suphakarn” a lecturer at the faculty of music and performing arts, Burapha University who herself is a singer and vocal academic. The event is available on Friday to Sunday, between 24 December 2021 to 3 January 2022 at King Power Rangnam and Srivaree (only on Saturday to Sunday and special public holidays)
Mr. Apichate concluded that “King Power has organised these campaigns for both Thai and foreign visitors to enjoy Christmas and New Year festivals. KING POWER CLICK & COLLECT is our answer to the current needs of international travellers, as well as the future solution. As for Thai customers, the no-flight shopping campaign will be an important driving force of our business. It also brightens up the shopping scene in this festival of celebration.”
dtac participated in a meeting with NBTC to clarify regarding customers port-out requests.
dtac participated in a meeting with NBTC to clarify regarding customer’s port-out requests.
In the meeting, dtac reiterated its stance to facilitate if customers demand to port out according to NBTC’s policy that allows customers to port out and verify their rights before porting by pressing *151*ID number 13 digits# then make a call.
Customers can verify their port-out conditions as follow:
No outstanding balance. Name and information of the porting number match with the registered information. Not under purchasing device contract.
Q: Is it true that dtac delays in sending pin for customers who demand to port out by pressing USSD *151*ID number 13 digits# then make a call?
The answer is “NO” if customers are not under any port-out conditions, they will receive the pin within 10 minutes as per NBTC’s measures. However, in case customers face this issue, they can contact dtac to investigate further.
Q: dtac delays customers to port out claiming that prepaid customers still have credits remaining?
Answer: Not true, dtac doesn’t use this claim to maintain customers. dtac wishes to preserve customers’ benefits, in case there are still credits left in the prepaid system. Thereby, if customers acknowledge, and still want to pursue the port out, dtac will accommodate the request.
B.Grimm Industrial Businesses unit launch Thailand’s very first one stop facade and lighting solution.
Today, B.Grimm is a multinational conglomerate active in energy, industrial businesses, healthcare, digital solutions, lifestyle and capital investment. Customers in industrial businesses always seek innovative solutions that help lower their costs, fasten their processes, or generate more revenue. Driven by an ambition for greater energy efficient and healthy living for our clients, B.Grimm Industrial Businesses unit launch Thailand’s very first one stop facade and lighting solution. Offering seamless integration of facades and building envelopes, smart lighting, and intelligent digital displays, this unique solution promises to cater to all architectural needs in building design and lower energy usage.
Customers will be offered a reprieve from the hassle of contacting, liaising and coordinating with different suppliers for such major elements of a building, as B.Grimm offers a full array of in-house services, providing professional support in each key step of design, manufacturing, installation, through to maintenance and post contract services for a smooth and thorough experience. In addition, B.Grimm also offers value engineering by cooperating with designers and consultants from the design stage to propose the most optimal design option available.
Caroline Link, president of B.Grimm Joint Venture, affirmed this point, stating that “In general, customers are forced to waste time contacting multiple service providers to supply facades, lighting, and digital signage installation for their projects. This multiple sourcing environment can lead to scheduling conflicts or design misalignments across vendors, causing project delays. To avoid this and ensure smooth cooperation, B.Grimm consolidates our affiliates’ expertise in facade, smart lighting, and digital display to supply a single comprehensive solution. Thus, customers can experience faster and flexible services with high-quality, bespoke products. From start to finish, we are the only point of contact they will ever need. This solution also follows our B.Grimm’s business purpose ‘Doing Business with Compassion’ with an aim to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and wellbeing of every society which we live in.”
Fabrice Goetschmann, president of B.Grimm Industrial Businesses, added “Moreover, our wide array of innovative products can match various customers’ needs. In particular, we are focused on making buildings more energy-efficient by integrating technologies such as double-glazed facade systems with thermally enhanced frames, which can reduce buildings’ energy consumption by 65%. Combined with our energy-saving LED light bulbs and displays, our solutions will lead the way in lowering the energy consumption of buildings, promoting sustainability while satisfying customer needs.”
Arnon Harnburanaphong, Managing Director of MBM Metalworks Limited, offered some insight into the company’s target market, which includes medium to large-sized projects, particularly commercial, residential, and mixed-use buildings.
“Current trends in the exterior building sector are moving ever faster to the use of more energy efficient and sustainable building solutions, yet still requiring to meet all the aesthetical, design and engineering requirements. Our new collaborative approach to total building envelopes for facades, dynamic lighting, and digital display systems brings everything into a single package for our clients in this fast-growing market. This combination facilitates eye-catching building design and promotes visibility from distance both during day and night, whilst considering both environmental and economic needs. B.Grimm targets building owners who want to increase business value and revenue” said Mr. Arnon.
This venture is a collaboration between three leading companies under B.Grimm: MBM Metalworks, specializing in facades and building envelopes with an internationally renowned client base; B.Grimm Trading, a distributor of engineering products imported from global markets such as Europe and the US; and Chubb Thailand, a leading global provider of fire safety, security, and monitoring solutions.
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