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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009596

Bitcoin plunged 5.5 per cent to $53,435.9 at 22:04 GMT on Friday (December 4), losing $3,112.06 from its previous close, the website Investing.com reported.

On Wednesday CEO of digital payment platform “Square”, Jack Dorsey, announced that Square will change its corporate name to “Block.” Additionally, its cryptocurrency division — Square Crypto — will be renamed “Spiral” — both changes are scheduled to occur next week on December 10. 

The announcement came only two days after his resignation as CEO of Twitter, as Dorsey is reinforcing Square’s position in cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s chief technology officer, is taking over as CEO effective immediately since Monday.

It is speculated that Dorsey is following facebook’s footstep in diverting from social media to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, after the company had announced the rebranding into Meta in October.
 

Published : December 04, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009590

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,588.19 on Friday, down 3.65 points or 0.23 per cent. Transactions totalled 55.19 billion baht with an index high of 1,597.25 and a low of 1,587.53.

The index fell after a sharp rise totalling 1.47 per cent on Thursday and Wednesday.

The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, EA, PTT, MAKRO, ADVANC, RCL, PTTEP, SCB, SABUY and CPALL.

Other Asian indices were mixed:

• Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 28,029.57, up 276.20 points or 1.00 per cent.
• China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,607.43, up 33.60 points or 0.94 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 14,892.05, up 126.49 points or 0.86 per cent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,766.69, down 22.24 points or 0.093 per cent.
• South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,968.33, up 23.06 points or 0.78 per cent.
• Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,697.14, down 27.74 points or 0.16 per cent.

Related stories:

• Worries over Omicron, Fed signal expected to pressure SET
• Baht unchanged as investors hope new variant Omicron is not worse than Delta
• Gold sees better signs while worries over Omicron eases

Published : December 03, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009574

The baht opened at 33.88 to the US dollar on Friday, unchanged from Thursday’s closing rate.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.75 and 33.95 to the greenback during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

The market is in a risk-on state because investors are hoping that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 will not be worse than the Delta variant even it might spread quicker. They also believed that the current vaccine might work against the Omicron variant.

Related News

Baht weakens as investors offload stocks, short term bonds

Baht up, but worries over Omicron, gold price might see currency skid

Baht strengthens but Omicron worries may pull it down again

Published : December 03, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009572

The price of gold rose by THB50 in morning trade on Friday.

A9.25am report from the Gold Traders Association showed the buying price of gold bar at THB28,400 per baht weight and selling price at THB28,500, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB27,894.40 and THB29,000, respectively.

At close on Thursday, the buying price of gold bar was THB28,350 per baht weight and selling price THB28,450, while gold ornaments were THB27,833.76 and THB28,950, respectively.

The spot gold price on Friday morning was moving around US$1,772 (THB60,070) per ounce after Comex gold at close on Thursday crashed by $21.6, hit the lowest level in more than 7 weeks to $1,762.7 per ounce due to pressure from the forecast that The US Federal Reserve (Fed) may raise interest rates sooner than expected. In addition, the fading concerns over the Covid-19 Omicron variant was also another pressure to sell gold as a safe-haven asset.

Related news:

• Worries over Omicron, Fed signal expected to pressure SET
• Oil rises as OPEC+ leaves door open for quick change of plans
• Arkhom ready to allocate money to fight Omicron

The price of gold in Hong Kong, meanwhile, dropped by HK$10 to $16,460 (THB71,604) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.

Published : December 03, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009565

Krungsri Securities forecast the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index on Friday (December 3) would fluctuate between 1,585-1,600 points.

It said the index gained positive sentiment from the US House lawmakers on Thursday adopted a bipartisan bill to fund the government into early next year.
 

“However, uncertainty over Omicron Covid-19 variant, US Federal Reserve’s signal to end quantitative easing programme and mass sell-offs of shares to deal with risks during three days holiday would pressure the index,” Krungsri Securities said.

It also recommended buying of the following companies’ shares as an investment strategy:
▪︎ COM7, SYNEX, BCH, CHG and MEGA, which benefit from the Covid-19 crisis.
▪︎ HANA, KCE, TU, ASIAN, EPG and XO, which benefit from the weakening baht.

Related stories: 

• House passes stopgap spending bill, but path to avert shutdown remains unclear in the Senate
• Oil rises as OPEC+ leaves door open for quick change of plans
• SET rises slightly despite overwhelming negative sentiment

Published : December 03, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009558

Stocks pushed higher after the biggest back-to-back selloff since October 2020 as dip buyers scooped up some of the hardest-hit shares. Treasuries retreated.

Companies that stand to benefit the most from an economic rebound led gains in the S&P 500, with small caps and travel stocks surging. Trading volume in the gauge was 30% above the average of the past month. Boeing jumped as China was on the cusp of lifting a nearly three-year grounding of the 737 Max plane. Tech underperformed as Bloomberg News reported that Apple Inc. told its component suppliers demand for the iPhone 13 lineup has weakened.

Volatility has gripped financial markets this week, stirred by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish tone and the spread of the omicron coronavirus strain. The turmoil may offer investors a chance to position for a trend reversal in reopening and commodity trades, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists. While it’s likely that the variant is more transmissible, early reports suggest it may also be less deadly, they added.

“What we’re seeing is the propensity to buy the dip,” said Aoifinn Devitt, chief investment officer at Moneta Group. “And why are we buying the dip? Because there’s just so much money sitting on the sidelines. Even though these short bouts of volatility are surprising and certainly have sent a chill through markets, we still have a significant bank of equity returns to enjoy year to date.”

Traders continued to assess the latest developments on the new coronavirus strain, with a growing chorus of companies and officials seeking to reassure the public about vaccinations. Novavax said it’s developing an omicron-specific vaccine construct, while a Pfizer executive expects its shot to hold up against the variant.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that it’s the Fed’s job to avert any wage-price spiral, and that she understands the “reasoning” behind the central bank’s plans to scale back its asset purchases. Wage and price behavior will be the key signs to watch to detect whether the U.S. economy is “overheating,” she added, speaking virtually on Thursday to a conference organized by Reuters.

Bond traders have slashed their inflation expectations, putting the so-called breakeven rate for Treasuries linked to consumer-price gains over the next five years on track for its biggest one-week drop since the early months of the Covid pandemic.

Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits rose by less than forecast last week, suggesting additional progress in the job market. The figures come a day before the monthly employment report, which is projected to show payrolls increased by 546,000 in November.

The swoon in the S&P 500 in the last two days depressed one measure of its breadth to a level that has coincided with bargain hunting and a recovery in the gauge. The measure is the proportion of stocks trading above the 50-day simple moving average.

Elsewhere, oil whipsawed after OPEC and its allies said they will proceed with their next oil-production hike, but could revisit the decision at any moment as the risk to demand from the omicron variant of Covid-19 becomes clearer.

Stocks:

– The S&P 500 rose 1.7% as of 12:33 p.m. New York time.

– The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.1%.

– The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9%.

– The MSCI World index rose 0.9%.

– The Russell 2000 Index rose 2.3%.

Currencies:

– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

– The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1298.

– The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3304.

– The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 113.22 per dollar.

Bonds:

– The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 1.46%.

– Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.37%.

– Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.81%.

Commodities:

– West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to $67.10 a barrel.

– Gold futures fell 1.1% to $1,765 an ounce.

Published : December 03, 2021

By : Bloomberg

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40009557

Oil emerged higher from a volatile morning after OPEC and its partners left themselves room to quickly adjust output plans if the pandemic drastically changes the market.

West Texas Intermediate was about 1% higher after earlier falling as much as 4.8% on Wednesday. Futures recovered from their steep plunge after the group said it was keeping its meeting open to adjust plans on short notice if necessary. It’s an unusual step that underscores the uncertain outlook amid a resurgent pandemic.

Traders had widely expected OPEC+ to defer the 400,000 barrel a day supply increase with concern growing that the omicron coronavirus variant will hurt demand. Prices have plunged into a bear market in recent days, and as the group met, Germany announced strict coronavirus curbs, underscoring the risk to demand.

“The genius move was keeping this meeting open,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “You will not be brave enough to sell against that.”

Oil has dropped more than 20% since late October on a White House-led coordinated reserves release and, more recently, the new virus variant. An increasingly hawkish tone from the Federal Reserve is also weighing on the growth outlook for the U.S. economy. A major, as yet unanswered, question is whether existing virus drugs will work against omicron.

Still, there are those who think oil’s drop has been overdone. Goldman Sachs said prices have “far overshot” the impact of omicron. Bank of America said it was sticking to its $85-a-barrel forecast in 2022, with possible surges past $100 if air travel rebounds.

The recent selloff in prices has stretched all the way along the futures curve. The key Dec.-Red-Dec. spread, a gauge used by traders to bet on the health of the market, is at its weakest since February. Options markets have been roiled too, with volatility soaring to its highest since May last year.

WTI for January delivery rose 43 cents to $66 a barrel as of 1:06 p.m. in New York. Brent for February settlement rose 30 cents to $69.17 a barrel.

As OPEC+ gathers, there are continued negotiations around the revival of the Iran nuclear deal. Officials from the country presented proposals for the process of sanctions removal, local media said, though there remains little sign of an imminent deal to return supply to the market.

The U.S., meanwhile, is sticking to its guns on the reserves sale. There are no plans to change the timing or amount of the announced release of 50 million barrels, the Energy Department said in a statement.

Published : December 03, 2021

By : Bloomberg