The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index dropped by 0.65 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 1,262.37 in the morning session on Tuesday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise to between 1,270 and 1,275 points as investors were ready to take more risks to gain increased returns, leading to a rise in the global stock market.
“Meanwhile, bank shares have shown signs of recovery for the first time amid the Covid-19 crisis,” he pointed out.
“Therefore, we expect the share price in the laggard group, such as bank and energy shares, to rise, while share prices in the leading group of electronics and agriculture are expected to slow down.”
He recommended investors buy:
> Bank stocks that have shown signs of recovery, such as KBank, SCB and BBL.
> Stocks that were involved in block trade, such as CBG, KTC and TKN.
> Stocks that benefit from a Covid-19 vaccine development, such as AOT, Centel, Mint and ERW.
The SET Index closed at 1,263.02 on Monday, up 18.08 points, or 1.45 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt41.29 billion, with an index high of 1,264.50 points and a low of 1,251.12.
The price of gold rose by Bt450 per baht weight in morning trade on Tuesday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.24am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt28,200 per baht weight and selling price Bt28,300, while gold ornaments cost Bt27,697.32 and Bt28,800, respectively.
At close yesterday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt27,750 per baht weight and selling price Bt27,850, while gold ornaments cost Bt27,257.68 and Bt28,350, respectively.
The spot gold price moved to US$1,886 (Bt59,817.96) per ounce this morning after the price rose by $16 to $1,882.30 at close yesterday.
The gold price closed in positive territory from a weakening dollar and uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic, helping the precious metal as a safe-haven asset to become more attractive to investors.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$280, opening at $17,420 (Bt71,288.99) per tael this morning, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
The Asean-Canada free-trade agreement is expected to boost Thailand’s economic growth by 1.97 per cent, the Department of Trade Negotiations’ deputy director-general Duangathid Nithiutai said.
He was citing a region-based feasibility study conducted by the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia.
Bilateral trade between Thailand and Canada last year stood at US$2.55 billion, of which $1.6 billion accounted for Thai exports. Key products exported to Canada include canned seafood, rice, computers and computer components.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Vildana Hajric, Claire Ballentine · BUSINESS U.S. stocks jumped after four weeks of declines and European shares added the most in three months amid broad gains for equities. The dollar weakened.
Banks led the S&P 500 Index to its biggest gain in two weeks as investors found buying opportunities after the gauge fell to its lowest since July last week. More than 10 stocks were higher on the benchmark for every one that fell. HSBC Holdings Plc added almost 9% after its biggest shareholder raised its stake, while an index of lenders rose the most a month. Shares also advanced in Asia.
Signs that U.S. politicians are moving toward new fiscal stimulus has been a boon to stocks in recent days, while the Federal Reserve continues to provide liquidity. Stronger economic reports from China also lifted investor sentiment, with data over the weekend showing profits at Chinese industrial companies grew for a fourth consecutive month in August.
“The Fed is making it almost impossible for you to get too bearish,” said John Porter, head of equities at Mellon Investments. “The market is getting more comfortable with the realization that Covid is going to be with us for a while now.”
The advance in global stocks was broad, instead of tech-focused, a sign that optimism about global growth and the end of pandemic lockdowns is returning. Still, equities remain on course for the first month of losses since March after investors sold overheated stocks and fears about a resurgence in the virus weighed on airlines and retailers.
“September certainly continued to challenge the intestinal fortitude of the bulls, but charting the S&P 500 from March shows the bull market remains very much intact,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial Corp.
In emerging markets, the Turkish lira and Russian ruble weakened as fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan curbed appetite for the currencies of their bigger neighbors.
Traders Get Fresh Reason to Sell Lira, Ruble as Neighbors Fight
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 Index gained 1.6% as of 4 p.m. EDT.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 2.2%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.3%.
– The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 1.1%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
– The euro gained 0.3% to $1.1667.
– The British pound jumped 0.7% to $1.2834.
– The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 105.49 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys rose less than 1 basis point to 0.66%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to -0.53%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.20%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.8% to $40.59 a barrel.
Thailand is aiming to become one of the world’s top 10 shippers of halal food, helping Thai exports recover from their 14-per-cent drop this year due to the Covid-19 impact.
The Federation of Thai Industries expects revenue from halal exports to rise 5 per cent in 2021 from Bt900 billion this year, as Thailand grabs a larger slice of a Bt35-trillion global market.
Demand for halal products like canned tuna, fresh fruit, and chicken has expanded despite the virus crisis, driven by 2.2 billion Muslim consumers worldwide.
The world’s top 10 exporters are the United States, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, China, Spain, France, Canada, Italy and Belgium. Thailand ranks 12th in the world, third in Asia and first in Asean with export revenue of Bt909 billion.
In the first six months of 2020, Thailand earned Bt449 billion from halal exports.
The country’s top five halal markets are China (137.8 million Muslims), 57 Muslim countries (OICs), the US (6.8 million), India (265.8 million) and Russia (24.7 million). is vegetables, fruits, rice, sugar, meat, poultry such as chicken and aquatic animals such as shrimp, fish, as well as processed products, ready-to-eat meals, seasonings, beverages, and snacks.
Wisit Limluecha, head of the Federation of Thai Industries’ food industry division, said demand for halal foods is likely to grow next year.
“Countries’ purchasing power is down due to Covid-19, but next year if the situation improves it should grow 3-5 per cent. Thai restaurants across the world, which number about 20,000, are another export channel for halal ingredients,” Wisit said.
“Thailand has the opportunity to join the top 10 exporters of halal food in the world, with an emphasis on innovative and premium products,” he added.
Economic indicators for August show significant improvement from July but suggest the economy is still contracting, according to the Finance Ministry.
Releasing its monthly economic report on Monday, the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office predicted the economic situation would get better in the third quarter after a sharp contraction of 12.2 per cent in the second quarter.
Reopening the country to tourists would also boost the recovery, said fiscal policy adviser Wuttipong Jittungsakul, referring to a plan to allow foreign travellers back into Thailand next month. Before the Covid-19 travel ban, Thailand welcomed 6.7 million foreign tourists this year.
August’s revenue from value added tax (VAT), an indicator of private consumption, fell 3.8 per cent year on year – but far less than the 11.6 per cent drop in July. Car sales rose 14.8 per cent from July, but contracted 35.5 per cent year on year. Motorcycle registration dropped 2.5 per cent year on year, compared to 5.8 per cent contraction in July.
Farmers’ income increased for the second month in a row, by 9.2 per cent, up from 3.8 per cent in July. The consumer confidence index rose for the fourth consecutive month, to 51. Effective control of Covid-19, relaxation of restrictions, and implementation of aid packages had helped boost consumer spending. The fiscal Policy Office predicted the economic situation in the third quarter (July-September) would be better than the second quarter, he said.
Private investment also improved slightly, with imports of capital goods and commercial cars increasing 1.5 per cent and 13.1 per cent respectively from July. They dropped year-on-year, but at a decelerating rate of 11.5 and 0.5 per cent.
Cement sales in August rose 2.7 per cent year on year but were flat compared to sales in July. However the property sector remained on a downward trajectory, with tax revenue from real estate transactions dropping 6.9 per cent from July and 14.1 per cent year on year.
Exports in dollar terms contracted 7.9 per cent in August, better than the 11.4 per cent contraction in July.
Budget disbursement rose 9.2 per cent year on year in August with a monthly increase of 3.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, Pisit Puapan, executive director of the Finance Ministry’s Macroeconomic Policy Bureau, said economic indicators in August pointed to recovery in all four regions of the country.
Investors should be aware of downside risks as the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) falls, a leading market analyst has cautioned.
Chayanee Juengmanon, a senior analyst at Morningstar Research, said her firm’s study of large-cap equity funds, which are expected to recover next year, showed they carried a high risk.
“Also, the company compared returns from high-risk and low-risk funds and found that their upside capture ratios were 105.4 and 64.6 respectively, while the downside capture ratios were 98.5 and 79.07,” she explained.
“This comparison shows that high-risk equity funds offer the chance of high returns when the market rises, but may drop sharply when the market falls.”
She noted that the five equity funds with the highest returns in the previous three years as of September 25 were all in negative territory: Asset Plus Equity RMF Fund (ASP-ERF) at -1.54 per cent and -1.99 per cent, LH Strategy Equity Fund-Accumulation (LHSTRATEGY-A) at -12.13 per cent and -2.39 per cent, LH Strategy Equity Fund-Auto Redemption (LHSTRATEGY-R) at -12.12 per cent and -2.4 per cent, LH Strategy Equity Fund-Dividend (LHSTRATEGY-D) at -12.12 per cent and -2.41 per cent, and Asset Plus High Growth LTF Tax Benefit (ASP-GLTF-T) at -4.25 per cent and -3.03 per cent.
“The ASP-ERF fund has a policy to make long-term investment in stocks with good fundamentals focusing on market conditions,” she said.
She added that the top five stocks held by ASP-ERF as of August 31 were Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) (STGT) at 8.31 per cent, Airports of Thailand (AOT) at 5.19 per cent, Minor International (MINT) at 5.19 per cent, PTT at 4.49 per cent and JMT Network Services at 4.1 per cent.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,263.02 on Monday, up 18.08 points or 1.45 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt41.29 billion with an index high of 1,264.50 and a low of 1,251.12.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to rise to between 1,255 and 1,260 after the S&P500 and Nasdaq rose by 1.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.
He said the domestic political situation was not expected to escalate, but it would pressure the index through October.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value on Monday were STGT, PTT, KBANK, AOT, ADVANC, CPF, DIF, BBL, GULF and SCB.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil dropped by US$0.35 or 0.87 per cent to $39.90 per barrel, while gold dropped by $10.10 or 0.54 per cent, to $1,856.20 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 23,511.62, up 307.00 points or 1.32 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,217.53, down 1.88 points or 0.058 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 12,760.93, down 53.24 points or 0.42 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,476.05, up 240.63 points or 1.04 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,308.08, up 29.29 points or 1.29 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 12,462.76, up 229.85 points or 1.88 per cent.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday that he will disclose the name of the new finance minister next week, adding that the post will be taken up by a well-known person.
He also dismissed the names brought up by media as potential candidates for the job, including former transport minister Arkhom Termpittatapaisith and Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary Prasong Poontaneat.
The premier also said no other Cabinet positions will be changed other than the appointment of a new finance minister.
Predee Daochai gave up his post as finance minister on September 2, just 27 days after taking office. He cited health reasons for quitting.
The private sector is calling on the premier to choose a new finance minister as soon as possible, so the economy can be pulled out of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 8.88 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 1,253.82 in the morning session on Monday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise to between 1,255 and 1,260 in response to the rise in other indices after falling for five consecutive days.
He said the S&P500 and Nasdaq rose by 1.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively, while the domestic political situation was not expected to escalate.
“However, the political situation would pressure the index in October,” he said.
For investment strategy, he recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ Stocks that were involved in block trade, such as KTC, ICHI and TKN.
▪︎ Stocks that would benefit from a Covid-19 vaccine development, such as AOT, CENTEL, MINT and ERW.
▪︎ Stocks that benefit from the rising Baltic Dry Index, such as TTA and PSL.
The SET Index closed at 1,244.94 on Friday, down 2.52 points or 0.20 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt45.62 billion with an index high of 1,256.40 and a low of 1,241.66.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha 
