The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 3.59 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,368.18 in the morning session on Thursday.
However, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fall in the morning session despite Pfizer saying its coronavirus vaccine is 95 per cent effective and the company would seek a regulatory review within days.
“The US move to impose fresh restrictions to curtail the spread of coronavirus after the number of virus cases increased sharply would pull down the SET to 1,340 points,” he predicted, adding that this is an opportunity to increase investment to speculate for profit when the index hits 1,400 points.
He recommended investors buy BTS, ERW, Ichi and Top, whose third-quarter performance was expected to improve.
The SET Index closed at 1,364.59 on Wednesday, up 14.78 points, or 1.09 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt66.93 billion, with an index high of 1,364.64 points and a low of 1,341.46.
The baht opened at 31.31 to the US dollar on Thursday, unchanged from its closing rate on Wednesday.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 30.20 and 30.40, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.
On Wednesday night, the S&P 500 decreased by 1.2 per cent amid market concern over the dire Covid-19 situation in the US.
The Stoxx 600 Index increased by 0.4 per cent due to investors’ hopes that the EU would issue a fresh stimulus package, he said.
Meanwhile, the WTI crude oil price rose by 0.7 per cent, to $41.70 (Bt1,265) per barrel.
The dollar continued to weaken, and the US Ten-Year Treasury yield decreased by 2 basis points to 0.88 per cent. Investors decided to invest in the yen as a safe-haven asset. Bitcoin was trading at $17,000 (Bt51,5856) amid speculation.
In Thailand, the baht came under pressure from the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) measures to prevent the currency from strengthening quickly. However, Jitipol said the recent movement of the baht was not mainly from speculation, so BOT will not implement strict measures targeting speculators.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Claire Ballentine · BUSINESS
U.S. stocks slumped as fresh restrictions to curtail the spread of coronavirus overshadowed signs that scientists are making fast progress toward a vaccine. The dollar held near its lowest level in two years.
The S&P 500 Index closed at its lows of the day after New York City shut schools because of rising infections. Pfizer Inc. advanced after saying that its covid-19 vaccine was 95% effective, paving the way for the company to apply for the first U.S. regulatory authorization for a coronavirus shot within days. Lowe’s Cos Inc. slumped after earnings trailed analysts’ expectations, while Target Corp. advanced on soaring sales.
Cryptocurrency mania continued its comeback, with Bitcoin surging past $18,000 for the first time since December 2017 before erasing its advance.
After gains that pushed stocks to record highs earlier this week, money managers remained focused on the latest coronavirus data showing disturbingly high infection rates in Europe and the U.S. Wednesday marked the first time the S&P 500 had dropped for two consecutive days since late October.
“Investors are taking a well-earned timeout after the news of the last couple weeks saw sentiment surge to levels that suggested excessive optimism,” said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors. “Progress toward a vaccine is promising and suggests a light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s no telling for sure how long that tunnel is.”
Elsewhere, equity gauges closed green across Europe. The pound continued its advance amid hopes of a Brexit deal and data showing stronger-than-expected inflation. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.1% after Tokyo reported a record number of new covid-19 infections, but overall Asian stocks were slightly higher on the day.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
–The S&P 500 Index fell 1.2% at 4 p.m. EST.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1%.
– The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.4%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
– The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1854.
– The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3269.
– The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 103.86 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys rose two basis points to 0.87%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.56%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.33%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.6% to $41.69 a barrel.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,364.59 on Wednesday, up 14.78 points or 1.09 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt66.93 billion with an index high of 1,364.64 and a low of 1,341.46.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fall to 1,340 points due to lack of positive sentiment.
“Uncertainty over political unrest in Thailand, rising Covid-19 cases worldwide and signs of overbought stocks will pressure the index,” he said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, SCGP, MINT, PTT, GPSC, SAWAD, STGT, AOT, GULF and CPALL.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.31 or 0.75 per cent to $41.74 per barrel, while gold dropped by $4.60 or 0.24 per cent, to $1,880.50 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 25,728.14, down 286.48 points or 1.10 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,347.30, up 7.41 points or 0.22 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,658.20, down 74.32 points or 0.54 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,544.29, up 129.20 points or 0.49 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,545.64, up 6.49 points or 0.26 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 13,773.29, up 180.28 points or 1.33 per cent.
EconNov 18. 2020Titanun Mallikamas, Secretary of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
By The Nation
At a meeting on Wednesday, the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to maintain the policy rate at 0.5 per cent to support economic recovery, while placing emphasis on more targeted measures, MPC secretary Titanun Mallikamas said.
The committee believes that despite the recent better-than-expected results, the Thai economy will recover slowly and will need support from continued low policy rate.
As economic recovery will remain fragile and highly uncertain, the committee voted to maintain the policy rate and preserve limited policy space in order to act at the appropriate and most effective timing.
The Thai economy showed better than expected improvement in the third quarter of this year. However, recovery is expected to remain slow and vary significantly among different sectors.
Overall, the economy is projected to take approximately two years before it returns to pre-pandemic levels.
Consequently, the labour market will remain fragile as labour incomes remain low. This in turn will weigh on private consumption, particularly among low-income households following the phase-out of temporary supporting factors.
Public expenditure is also expected to be lower than previously expected.
The financial system, however, remains sound despite increasing vulnerabilities given the economic outlook and risks to the financial positions of businesses and households.
Meanwhile, headline inflation will be less negative in line with increasing energy prices and will stay close to the lower bound of the target range in 2021. Medium-term inflation expectations remained anchored within the target.
Despite ample liquidity in the financial system and low financing costs, some businesses, especially SMEs, and households in need of liquidity have not gained access to credit.
The baht appreciated rapidly against the US dollar owing to risk-on sentiment following the US presidential election outcome and progress of Covid-19 vaccine development.
The committee expressed concerns over the rapid appreciation of the baht as this affected the fragile economic recovery. Hence, it said, it will closely monitor developments in foreign exchange markets and capital flows as well as consider the necessity of implementing additional measures.
The committee said policy coordination among government agencies will be critical to support the economic recovery going forward. Monetary policy must remain accommodative. Financial and credit measures should expedite liquidity distribution to
affected groups in a targeted and timely manner, and financial institutions should accelerate debt-restructuring to have a broader impact. Fiscal measures continued to play an important role in shoring up the economy. The government should thus accelerate budget disbursement and assist vulnerable target groups. In addition, implementation of supply-side policies should be accelerated to support business restructuring and upskilling of workers, which will help support sustainable economic recovery in the long term.
Under the monetary policy framework with objectives of maintaining price stability, supporting sustainable and full-potential economic growth and preserving financial stability,
the committee continued to put emphasis on supporting economic recovery.
The committee will monitor the adequacy of the government measures and various risks, including domestic political uncertainties, progress of protocols for admitting foreign tourists, and financial position of businesses and households, in deliberating monetary policy going forward. The committee said it will stand ready to use additional appropriate monetary policy tools if necessary.
FinVest smartphone app will soon make it easier to invest in local, foreign mutual funds
Nov 17. 2020Kit Wong, left, CEO of Lu International (Singapore), Chonladet Khemarattana, centre, CEO and co-founder of Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities, and Patchara Samalapa, right, KBank president.
By The Nation
KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Lu International and Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities have jointly launched FinVest – a digital investment platform that allows users to buy both Thai and global funds.
Investors simply download the app, open an account and buy mutual funds from leading asset management companies within Thailand and elsewhere. This will enhance their investment options with the opportunity to earn attractive returns.
By early next year, customers should be able to invest in foreign mutual funds, and KBank is targeting 120,000 accounts with an investment value of more than Bt14 billion.
Patchara Samalapa, KBank’s president, said: “In 2020, Thailand’s total outstanding capital market value is worth around Bt44 trillion. Of this, investment in mutual funds totals Bt4.8 trillion, or around 10 per cent.
“Of late, the younger generation has shown increasing interest in mutual funds, preferring to conduct transactions via digital channels and seeking products related to Thai and foreign equity instruments,” he said.
FinVest marks a cooperation towards digital technology development between KBank, which has digital banking expertise; Lu International – a Singapore-based company under Lufax Holding, which is an associate of Ping An Group – a large Chinese company with a team of world-class experts well-versed in investment technology; and Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities, an expert in wealth tech.
Kit Wong, CEO of Lu International (Singapore), said: “Lu International has strengths in investment management and a world-class technology development team. The company believes that Thailand will become an important market, with the fastest growth in investment and economy of any Southeast Asian country.”
Chonladet Khemarattana, CEO and co-founder of Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities, said: “Though Thailand is fast becoming an aging society, most of its population still lacks any investment plan to save up enough for their retirement.
“Of Thailand’s 70 million people, fewer than 5 per cent have invested either directly in the stock market or through a mutual fund. As people are generally concerned about risks and view investment to be difficult and time consuming, the FinVest platform provides investors with an alternative option for accessing an efficient investment channel.”
Once the FinVest account is activated via smartphone, investors have the option of linking their accounts to either Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, KBank or Siam Commercial Bank.
Interested persons can invest in various mutual funds offered by 15 leading asset management companies in Thailand – accounting for 90 per cent of the entire domestic industry – and many more across the globe, directly via FinVest.
Tesla to join S&P 500 next month as largest-ever new member
CorporateNov 18. 2020A Tesla vehicle charges at a Tesla Supercharger station in Petaluma, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by David Paul Morris
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Esha Dey, Dana Hull · BUSINESS
Tesla Inc., Elon Musk’s 17-year-old upstart carmaker, took a giant step toward blue-chip respectability on Monday, getting named to one of the world’s most famous stock indexes in an action that will greatly broaden its investor base.
The announcement that Tesla will enter the S&P 500 on Dec. 21 follows months of speculation, and one temporary setback, after the stock failed to make the cut during the index’s quarterly rebalancing in early September. The anticipation has helped drive a nearly fivefold rally in the stock this year to almost $390 billion, making the electric vehicle pioneer the biggest company ever to be added to the gauge. It will also be one of the index’s most influential constituents with a weighting that falls around those of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble Co.
It’s so big that S&P Dow Jones Indices said it is seeking feedback from the investment community to determine if Tesla should be added all at once or in two separate pieces. The company that Tesla is to replace in the index will be named later, the index provider said.
The news of S&P 500 inclusion “will of course likely drive a rally in the stock today,” JMP Securities analyst Joseph Osha wrote in a note to clients. “We think there is still upside,” he said, adding that Tesla should be valued like other “category killer” companies such as Apple Inc., instead of compared with other car companies. Osha reiterated his market outperform rating and price target of $516. Tesla shares jumped 12% in premarket trading to $456.
“This was a little unexpected happy day for me,” said Ross Gerber, chief executive officer at Gerber Kawasaki Inc. Tesla is the top holding for the Santa Monica, Calif.-based wealth management firm, with approximately 130,000 shares worth about $55 million as of Monday’s close.
After analyzing the index just last week, “it was just kind of mind blowing that Tesla still wasn’t in the S&P,” Gerber said in a telephone interview. “So sure enough, here it is.”
While entry into the benchmark is a rite of maturity that may dim some of Tesla’s cult stock appeal, membership comes with benefits, including forced purchases by index-tracking investors and mutual funds. The inclusion and the rapid rally over the past few months mean money managers overseeing passive funds will have to sell tens of billions of dollars worth of shares in their existing S&P holdings to make room for Palo Alto, California-based Tesla. On the other hand, longtime investors looking to exit their positions may now try to get out, knowing that index funds have to buy.
These crosscurrents may mean more trading volatility, though that is not new for Tesla. Ever since going public in 2010, the company’s popularity with Musk acolytes and legions of day traders has made it one of the more volatile stocks of its size in America. A steadier, more institutional ownership base could help to eventually ease those swings.
Tesla has solidified its position as the leading electric carmaker globally, even though competition is slowly heating up. It has overcome challenges including sometimes-severe production snarls, a massive cash burn rate and concerns about the demand for battery-powered vehicles in an industry dominated by gas-powered cars. In mid-September, Tesla reported a fifth consecutive quarterly profit, quieting critics who questioned its ability to make money.
Indeed, all it had taken was Musk hinting at the second-quarter profit — the company’s fourth consecutive profitable quarter — in a letter to employees in late June to trigger a 66% surge in the stock over a span of 17 trading days, since the results checked off the last requirement for S&P 500 inclusion.
Tesla’s sky-high share price also prompted a 5-for-1 stock split, a move aimed at making it more accessible to individual investors. The shares started trading on a split-adjusted basis on Aug. 31.
“We believe the sustained profitability trajectory as evidenced in the September quarter was the final straw that got Musk & Co. into the S&P 500 this time around,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note to investors. He has a neutral rating on the stock.
Joining one of the world’s most exclusive clubs is a validation for Musk and his unorthodox management style. His chief lieutenants are little known and rarely made available to the media or investors, and Musk courts controversy like few other corporate captains. He has picked fights with securities analysts, smoked marijuana during an interview and been sued for fraud by securities regulators for tweets claiming he had “funding secured” to take the company private.
He also has complained more than once that Tesla’s stock price is too high. But that hasn’t deterred investors.
Tesla has tapped into that investor goodwill with multiple secondary share offerings over the past decade, raising $14 billion through February and another $5 billion in September. That’s helped it fund new vehicle development and rapidly expand manufacturing capacity.
Musk’s latest mission is to make Tesla more of a global player in markets such as Asia and Europe. The automaker recently opened a plant in Shanghai and is building a factory in Berlin, which Musk visited last week for meetings with local officials. Tesla also has a second U.S. plant under construction near Austin, Texas, which is expected to expand the company’s model range to include a pickup called the Cybertruck.
Musk is intent on cementing first-mover advantage in the market for EVs as the entire auto industry shifts to embrace electric powertrains, and his company’s valuation on Nov. 13 was larger than Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. combined.
While Tesla is being rewarded by investors for dominating the global electric-car market, demand is still a small fraction of new vehicle sales — amounting to less than 3% of U.S. sales last year. That presents plenty of growth opportunity, but illustrates the challenge of making battery-powered cars more of a mainstream choice.
Still, the company’s recent success and its burgeoning valuation has also forced a spotlight on the entire electric vehicle space, sparking a surge in shares of several new entrants, some of whom still have a ways to go before production begins. Shares of China’s Nio Inc. rose 44% in October, and the company currently commands a market value that is bigger than GM.
The price of gold dropped by Bt100 per baht weight in morning trade on Wednesday after falling by Bt50 at close on Tuesday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.26am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,800 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,900, while gold ornaments cost Bt26,317.76 and Bt27,400, respectively.
At close on Tuesday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,900 per baht weight and selling price Bt27,000 while gold ornaments cost Bt26,408.72 and Bt27,500, respectively.
The spot gold price moved to US$1,880 (Bt56,794) per ounce in the morning, while the Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December dropped by $2.70 to $1,885.10 per ounce on Tuesday due to mass sell-offs of the precious metal after its price had risen for three consecutive days.
The Hong Kong gold price meanwhile dropped by HK$60 to $17,400 (Bt67,814) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 1.03 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 1,350.84 in the morning session on Wednesday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fall to 1,340 points due to lack of positive sentiment.
“Uncertainty over political unrest in Thailand, rising Covid-19 cases worldwide and signs of overbought stocks would pressure the index,” he said.
He recommended investors buy:
> Mint, Centel, AOT, IVL, PTTGC and Top, which would benefit from positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
> Sawad, which made a joint investment with Government Savings Bank to operate the auto title loan business.
> Amata, WHA, SAT, AH and RCL, which would benefit from the Asia-Pacific Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact.
The SET Index closed at 1,349.81 on Tuesday, down 1.25 points, or 0.09 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt90 billion, with an index high of 1,365.91 points and a low of 1,344.55.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Craig Torres · BUSINESS
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economic recovery is likely to continue at a “solid” pace yet risks losing momentum as the virus surges, adding that it was too soon to close the Fed’s emergency lending facilities.
Powell called rising virus infection rates a “significant” downside risk “especially in the near term,” during an online event Tuesday. “The concern is that people will lose confidence in efforts to control the pandemic and they will pull back from activities that they think might put them at risk of infection, and there are some signs of that already.”
While U.S. payrolls have recovered for six consecutive months, a resurgence in infections threatens to curtail activity and slow the recovery with millions of Americans remaining out of work. Still, stocks hit record highs this week on the promise of vaccines against the coronavirus.
Powell said recent progress on finding a vaccine was good news in the medium term, but the U.S. economy still has a “long way to go” before it fully recovers from the pandemic.
“The Fed will stay here and be strongly committed to using all our tools” to support the economy, Powell said. “The next few months may be very challenging.”
Fed officials have cut the benchmark lending rate to nearly zero and are currently buying $120 billion of Treasury and agency mortgage-backed securities a month to keep longer-run borrowing costs low. They have also pledged to keep providing policy support to the economy until inflation measures achieve rates that are consistent with an average of 2% over time.
The Fed chief also leaned toward keeping the Fed’s emergency lending facilities in place for now — all but one of which are currently scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
“When the right time comes, and I don’t think that time is yet or very soon, we will put those tools away,” he said. “The recovery is incomplete.”
Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Penn., is urging the Fed to close the facilities as markets continue to function. The Fed would need the treasury secretary’s agreement to keep the facilities open. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has not made a decision about whether the facilities should be extended into next year, an agency spokesperson said.
In a sign that Americans may be turning more cautious, retail sales rose in October at the slowest pace in six months, Commerce Department data released earlier Tuesday showed. Weaker momentum in consumer spending — which accounts for two-thirds of the economy — means growth could slow following the third quarter’s record jump in gross domestic product.
With hopes for additional fiscal stimulus this year fading, Fed officials may debate providing additional stimulus next month to sustain the expansion. U.S. central bankers next meet Dec. 15-16.
Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said Monday that he was encouraged by the vaccine news and had “more conviction that the recovery from the pandemic shock in the U.S. can potentially be much more rapid than it was from the global financial crisis.”
Titanun Mallikamas, Secretary of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) 
Kit Wong, left, CEO of Lu International (Singapore), Chonladet Khemarattana, centre, CEO and co-founder of Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities, and Patchara Samalapa, right, KBank president. 
A Tesla vehicle charges at a Tesla Supercharger station in Petaluma, Calif., on Sept. 24, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by David Paul Morris 
