The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 7.31 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,566.14 in the morning session on Friday.
A Krungsri Securities analyst forecast that the SET would fluctuate between 1,550 and 1,570 points despite the expectation that the US Federal Reserve would maintain interest rate at low level after US jobless claims jumped, as well as the falling US Treasury yield.
“Uncertainty over Thailand’s new wave of Covid-19 outbreak is expected to continue to pressure the index,” he said.
He recommended investors buy:
▪︎ TQM, STGT, COM7, SYNEX, PTL, AJ, BDMS and CHG, which benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak.
The SET Index closed at 1,558.83 on Thursday, up 2.27 points or 0.15 per cent. Total transactions were Bt83 billion with an index high of 1,564.65 and a low of 1,552.18.
The SET rebounded after falling 1.46 per cent on Wednesday.
The price of gold surged by Bt150 per baht weight in morning trade on Friday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.30am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,000 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,100, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,529.44 and Bt26,600, respectively.
At close on Thursday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,850 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,950, while gold ornaments were Bt25,377.84 and Bt26,450, respectively.
Spot gold price on Thursday surged by $16.6 to $1,758.2 (Bt55,261) per ounce, the highest in a month and a half, thanks to the weakening dollar and falling US bond yield after the US Federal Reserve signalled it would maintain interest rate at a low level.
Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$80 to $16,280 (Bt65,780) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
EconApr 09. 2021A Wall Street street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange as snow falls in New York on Feb. 1, 2021. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Jeenah Moon.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Rita Nazareth
Stocks climbed as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank has the tools to curb any inflation pressures, which are expected to be temporary as the economy reopens.
The S&P 500 notched another record amid thin trading volume. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed major equity benchmarks as giants such as Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. rallied. Energy producers and banks retreated. Treasuries rose, while the dollar fell.
One day after the Fed’s March minutes struck a dovish tone for the path of monetary policy, Powell said the central bank would react if inflation expectations start “moving persistently and materially above levels we’re comfortable with.” He also noted that disparate efforts to vaccinate people globally is a risk to progress for the economic rebound, which remains “uneven and incomplete.”
“The doves are in control, and today’s cautious comments from Fed Chair Powell delivered another reiteration of their ultra-accommodative stance,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda in New York.
Meanwhile, Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said it’s too soon for central bankers to discuss tapering asset purchases as long as the pandemic continues. Data Thursday showed applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance unexpectedly rose for a second week, underscoring the choppy nature of the labor-market recovery.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 rose 0.4% at 4 p.m. EDT.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.4%.
– The euro advanced 0.4% to $1.1914.
– The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 109.31 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on two-year Treasurys fell one basis point to 0.15%.
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys slid five basis points to 1.62%.
– The yield on 30-year Treasurys fell five basis points to 2.31%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $59.60 a barrel.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,558.83 on Thursday, up 2.27 points or 0.15 per cent. Total transactions were Bt83 billion with an index high of 1,564.65 and a low of 1,552.18. The SET rebounded after falling 1.46 per cent on Wednesday.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities forecast that the day’s SET would fall to between 1,545 and 1,550 points as a new wave of Covid-19 sparked uncertainty over Thailand’s economic recovery.
However, the US Federal Reserve’s resolution to maintain monetary policies until the economy recovers and the International Monetary Fund’s move to raise its global growth forecast would help the index rebound, Krungsri Securities predicted.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were STA, STGT, DELTA, SCC, KCE, IRPC, HANA, KBANK, TISCO and PTT.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,708.98, down 21.81 points or 0.073 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,482.55, up 2.93 points or 0.084 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,989.94, up 10.63 points or 0.076 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 29,008.07, up 333.27 points or 1.16 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed at 3,143.26, up 5.85 points or 0.19 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 16,926.44, up 111.08 points or 0.66 per cent.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 1.03 points or 0.07 per cent to 1,557.59 in the morning session on Thursday.
A Krungsri Securities analyst forecast that the SET would fall to between 1,545 and 1,550 points amid uncertainty over Thailand’s economic recovery after a new wave of Covid-19 emerged.
However, the US Federal Reserve’s resolution to use monetary policies until the economy recovers and the International Monetary Fund’s move to boost its global economic growth forecast would help the index to rebound, he predicted.
He recommended investors buy:
▪︎ TQM, STGT, Com7, Synex, PTL and AJ, which benefit from the Covid-19 situation.
▪︎ Hana, KCE, TU, and CPF, which benefit from the weakening baht.
▪︎ CBG, Ichi, Sappe, RBF, DOD, IP, Gunkul and Kiss, which benefit from positive news on hemp production and its general use.
The SET Index closed at 1,556.56 on Wednesday, down 23.10 points or 1.46 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt107.77 billion, with an index high of 1,570.69 points and a low of 1,555.57.
The price of gold was unchanged from Wednesday’s close in morning trade on Thursday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.29am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,700 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,800, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,241.40 and Bt26,300, respectively.
The price had risen by Bt50 per baht weight compared to the opening trade on Wednesday.
The spot gold price on Wednesday dropped by $1.40 to $1,741.60 (Bt54,771) per ounce due to mass sell-offs of the precious metal for profit after its price rose for four successive days.
Besides, the strong dollar also pressured the gold price.
The Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$10 to $16,130 (Bt65,169) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Rita Nazareth, Claire Ballentine
Stocks rose with the dollar and Treasuries fluctuated after the Federal Reserve refrained from signaling it will make any changes to its bond-buying program any time soon.
The S&P 500 notched another record amid thin trading volume. A rally in giants such as Apple Inc. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. pushed the Nasdaq 100 higher. Benchmark 10-year government yields remained below 1.7%.
Traders sifted through the minutes from the latest Fed meeting, which indicated there would likely be “some time” before the conditions are met for scaling back the asset-purchase program of $120 billion per month. Officials still saw elevated uncertainty in the growth outlook — in line with an “accommodative” stance. Meanwhile, the central bank said the recent surge in Treasury yields reflected improved economic prospects. While Wall Street has been increasingly worried about inflation, policymakers saw those risks as balanced.
“The rate side is still somewhat front and center, and probably the biggest risk to what is going on with equity valuations,” said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management. “Clearly, there’s been a re-pricing of inflation expectations higher this year, and at times, the stock market has struggled with it. I would say that’s to me the biggest risk at this point — that inflation readings start to come in to the point where the Fed potentially has to alter their plans.”
Rates are going higher for the “next several months, just like they have over the previous several months,” Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research, said on a Bloomberg Television interview. Bond yields have recently fallen because they’ve had a “relentless rise,” he noted.
If yields are going up because the economy is reopening and massive real growth is expected, that “won’t bother the economy or the stock market,” Bianco said. “But if interest rates are going up because of inflation,” which is a loss of purchasing power, “that’s a problem for the economy and the stock market, and we’re going to continue to have that debate.”
Credit markets have yet to signal any type of impending weakness ahead for U.S. stocks, according to Ian McMillan, a market technician at Client First Tax & Wealth Advisors. He compared the S&P 500 with the yield gap between some of the lowest-rated high-yield bonds and Treasurys. This week began with the gap for the Bloomberg Barclays Caa U.S. High Yield Index moving to its narrowest level since July 2018. A widening of high-yield spreads would be a caution signal for equities, he wrote.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 gained 0.1% as of 4 p.m. EDT.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.3%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.2%.
– The euro was little changed at $1.1871.
– The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.80 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on two-year Treasurys declined less than one basis point to 0.15%.
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys rose one basis point to 1.67%.
– The yield on 30-year Treasurys gained three basis points to 2.35%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $59.59 a barrel.
JKN Global Media (JKN) on Monday revealed its strategy to be the number one content and commerce company, aiming to generate Bt5 billion revenue within three years.
JKN’s chief executive officer, Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, said the company was now Asean’s leading content manager and distributer via satellite TV, digital TV and online platforms.
She said the achievement was a result of the board’s expertise and the company’s ‘superstar marketing’ strategy, which enabled the company to choose content that met the customers’ needs.
“Korean, Indian and Filipino series fever has now emerged in Thailand, thanks to our experience in content management and distribution for a long time,” she said.
“As JKN is a content company with high growth potential, the company was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on November 12 last year to allow more institutional and retail investors to invest in the company’s share and witness the company’s growth together,” she said.
To promote JKN as a content and commerce company in order to maintain sustainable growth, she said the company had launched health and beauty supplements under Olig Fiber brand, such as V-Allin, Hair Now, Instinct and C-TRIA by Anne JKN.
“To achieve quantum leap in sales, we use ‘superstar marketing’ strategy by hiring celebrities to be presenters of our products,” she said.
“In addition, herbal supplement drinks under Cupid brand, such as Dragon X and Tiger X, are expected to be launched within this month.”
She added that more than 10 food supplements and drinks with hemp extract are currently under development with DOD Biotech.
“We are seeking more partners to develop products with hemp extract in a bid to meet customers’ needs,” she added.
She said JKN has acquired DN Broadcast’s NEW18 digital TV channel whose name will be changed to JKN18 to expand its customer base and boost the growth of its commerce business in line with the new normal era.
“With quality product innovation, JKN18 channel and superstar marketing strategy, we have confidence that our commerce business will enable the company to achieve quantum leap in sales growth,” she added.
JKN’s chief financial officer Teeraphat Petporee said the company had invested Bt1.1 billion to acquire DN Broadcast’s NEW18 digital TV channel.
“After the acquisition, JKN will use knowledge and experience in content business to enhance news content production in order to boost the channel’s rating to become one of the country’s top ten channels,” he said.
He added that JKN is currently restructuring the organisation to boost sales and gross profit margin in the long term.
“The company aims to generate over Bt5 billion revenue within three years. The company’s revenue this year is expected to hit Bt2.5 billion of which Bt2 billion will be from content business and Bt500 million from commerce business,” he added.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Eric Martin
The International Monetary Fund upgraded its global economic growth forecast for the second time in three months, while warning about widening inequality and a divergence between advanced and lesser-developed economies.
The global economy will expand 6% this year, up from the 5.5% pace estimated in January, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday. That would be the most in four decades of data, coming after a 3.3% contraction last year that was the worst peacetime decline since the Great Depression.
The fund, which with the World Bank is holding its spring meetings virtually this week, underscored that policy makers should scale back government support “gradually,” to avoid “fiscal cliffs.” Central bankers should also give “clear forward guidance” on monetary policy to minimize the danger of disruptive capital flows.
The IMF reiterated its call for wealthy nations to help poorer ones combat Covid-19, and underlined the need to prioritize health-care spending more broadly to defeat the pandemic.
President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last month will help boost U.S. gross domestic product to above its pre-pandemic level this year and will have sizable positive spillovers for trading partners.
For 2022, the fund saw global growth at 4.4%, higher than the 4.2% previously projected.
Still, many advanced economies will not return to their pre-pandemic output levels until 2022, the IMF said, and emerging-market and developing economies may take until 2023 to recover those levels. The world economy in 2024 will be about 3% smaller than anticipated before the Covid-19 outbreak, the IMF said last week.
“The outlook presents daunting challenges related to divergences in the speed of recovery both across and within countries and the potential for persistent economic damage from the crisis,” IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said in the report.
Much of the focus of this week’s meetings will be on the IMF’s proposed $650 billion issuance of reserve assets known as special drawing rights, which aims to boost global liquidity and help emerging and low-income nations deal with mounting debt and covid-19 health-care costs.
The response to last year’s crisis by policy makers prevented a collapse that would have been at least three times worse, and the medium-term losses for the global economy are expected to be smaller than the global financial crisis a decade ago, the IMF said Tuesday.
But low-income countries and emerging markets are seen suffering more this time around — a contrast to 2009, when advanced economies were hit harder.
Related: IMF Says Fed Surprises Can Trigger Emerging-Market Outflows
The divergent recovery paths are likely to widen the global gap in living standards, the IMF said. The fund estimated per-capita income losses over the 2020-22 period in emerging and developing markets excluding China at the equivalent of 20% of the per-capita GDP figures for 2019. That’s much worse than the 11% the IMF sees in advanced economies.
Among other findings:
– About 95 million people are estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020.
– The number of undernourished people is calculated to have grown by 80 million.
Globally, economies dependent on tourism face a particularly difficult recovery outlook given the slow pace of normalization of cross-border travel expected, the fund noted.
But in advanced economies, pent-up demand will drive growth based on savings from 2020, as vulnerable people get vaccinated and contact-intensive industries resume, the IMF said.
Among the forecasts released Tuesday:
– Advanced economies will expand 5.1% this year, compared with the 4.3% previously seen.
– Emerging market and developing economies will grow 6.7%, up from 6.3%.
– The U.S. is seen at 6.4%, up from 5.1% in January. The fund previously calculated the stimulus enacted in March will boost U.S. output by a cumulative 5% to 6% over three years.
– The euro area will expand 4.4%, up from the 4.2% previously seen.
– Japan will grow 3.3%, compared with 3.1%.
– China is seen expanding 8.4%, up from 8.1%.
– India will grow 12.5%, up from 11.5%.
The IMF flagged the risk that, if virus mutations outpace the roll-out of vaccines, Covid-19 could become an endemic disease with an unknown severity.
Meantime, inflation data globally could turn volatile in the coming months, given record-low commodity prices a year ago, but the trend should prove short-lived, the IMF said. The muted outlook reflects a weak labor market, high unemployment and little worker bargaining power.
Global trade volume is expected to accelerate 8.4% this year on a rebound in goods purchases, up from the 8.1% gain seen in January.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,556.56 on Wednesday, down 23.10 points or 1.46 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt107.77 billion with an index high of 1,570.69 and a low of 1,555.57.
In the morning session, Krungsri Securities forecast the day’s index would fall to between 1,570 and 1,575 points despite hopes of global economic recovery amid strong data from the United States and China, plus the US’s $2.26-trillion (Bt70.7 trillion) infrastructure plan.
The index would come under pressure from uncertainty over the new wave of Covid-19 and pro-democracy protests in Thailand, said Krungsri Securities.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were STGT, DELTA, STA, STARK, PTT, CPALL, AOT, COM7, KBANK and OR.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,730.79, up 34.16 points or 0.12 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,479.63, down 3.34 points or 0.096 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,979.31, down 104.03 points or 0.74 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 28,674.80, down 263.94 points or 0.91 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 3,137.41, up 10.33 points or 0.33 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX closed at 16,815.36, up 75.49 points or 0.45 per cent.
A Wall Street street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange as snow falls in New York on Feb. 1, 2021. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Jeenah Moon.
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