Recap: Stocks slumped across the globe in the wake of US President Donald Trump's move to escalate the trade war, with China pledging "countermeasures" if Washington steps up tariffs on its goods. On the domestic front, explosions that rocked Bangkok on Friday morning contributed to a sell-off in the Thai bourse.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,671.97 and 1,722.20 points before closing at 1,684.71, down 1.9% from the previous week, in turnover averaging 60.78 billion baht a day.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 5.02 billion baht, institutional investors sold 4.03 billion and brokerage firms offloaded 2.56 billion worth of shares. Retail investors were net buyers of 11.61 billion baht.
Newsmakers: President Trump, unhappy with China's response in the early stages of renewed trade talks in Shanghai, said on Thursday that a 10% tariff on another $300 billion in Chinese imports would take effect on Sept 1, and the rate could rise to 25% if he sees no progress from Beijing.
The US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark lending rate for the first time in more than a decade, moving to ensure the economy does not falter. But Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that a second quarter-point cut might not materialise, to the displeasure of President Trump.
The Bank of England has left its policy interest rate unchanged, but warns that a no-deal Brexit would hit the economy and trigger a further drop in the value of the pound, which lost nearly 4% against the US dollar in July and is at its lowest level in 30 months.
The US has imposed sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, effectively slamming the door on the country's top diplomat.
The world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, Samsung Electronics, saw net profits slump by more than half in the second quarter in the face of a weakening chip market and a trade row building between Seoul and Tokyo.
A tech engineer in the western US state of Washington was arrested on Monday on charges of stealing sensitive data from millions of credit card applications at the financial heavyweight Capital One.
The Japanese technology company SoftBank and the Southeast Asian ride-hailing app Grab have announced plans to invest US$2 billion over the next five years in Indonesia, where the super-app Gojek dominates the market for ride-hailing and related services.
The Bank of Thailand has cut the amount of short-term bonds it will sell via auction in August to help slow fund inflows and rein in the strong baht. Traders say yields continue to fall on expectations of an interest-rate cut.
Thai exports are forecast to contract for the first time in four years in 2019 amid mounting risk factors such as the global economic slowdown, US-China trade tensions, the baht's strength and volatile oil prices, according to the Center for International Trade Studies at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The manufacturing production index in June dropped 5.5% year-on-year, reflecting the downturn of the global economy and trade, the Office of Industrial Economics reported.
Overall consumer prices edged up 0.98% year-on-year in July, driven by fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh food, pork, milled rice and milled glutinous rice.
The Bank of Thailand has asked banks and their subsidiaries to reduce the ratio of new consumer loans to vulnerable groups with a high debt-service ratio by at least 10% per quarter for four quarters, starting from the second quarter.
The new loan-to-value limits applied since April 1 should be continued as a new standard for home mortgages as they have not affected real housing demand and can help reduce non-performing loans, says the Housing Finance Association.
Running a chronic budget deficit will increase the ratio of debt obligations to 10.9% of total budget spending in 2023 from 8.7% this fiscal year, according to the Finance Ministry. The fiscal 2020 budget of 3.2 trillion baht calls for a deficit of 469 billion, upon from 450 billion in an earlier version.
Insurance premiums fell by 6% year-on-year in the first half, the first such occurrence in 15 years, as the economic slowdown and regulatory changes contributed to the decline, says the Thai Life Assurance Association.
TMB Bank and Thanachart Bank will sign a merger agreement this month, sealing a deal to create the country's sixth-largest bank, with assets of almost 2 trillion baht.
SET-listed PP Prime Plc (PPPM), a maker and distributor of aquatic animal feed, has defaulted on debentures worth 580 million baht, with the looming possibility of a cross-default worth more than 1 billion baht in total.
Central Group, the country's largest mall operator, is transforming the business held for 72 years by the Chirathivat family. A key element will be the listing of Central Retail Corporation, which reported revenue of 240 billion baht in 2018. The group's commercial development flagship, Central Pattana Plc, is already listed on the SET.
Kiatnakin Bank (KKP), an arm of Kiatnakin Phatra Finance Group, expects auto loan growth to be flat for the full year after shrinking for the first six months.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp plans to spend ¥25 billion (7.1 billion baht) to upgrade efficiency in Thailand, aiming to maintain the Laem Chabang facility as the Japanese car maker's largest export hub outside its home country.
SET-listed Ratch Group Plc has acquired a 70% equity stake in the 214-megawatt Yandin wind farm in Australia, a position worth A$53.31 million.
Coming up: The US will release July non-manufacturing PMI on Monday and Australia will release June trade figures on Tuesday.
The Bank of Thailand and the Reserve Bank of India will announce interest rate decisions on Wednesday. China will release July trade figures on Thursday and Thailand will announce July consumer confidence.
On Friday, the Reserve Bank of Australia will issue a statement on monetary policy, China will announce July inflation and Germany will release June trade data. Elsewhere, Britain will release second-quarter GDP and trade figures and Canada will release July employment data.
Stocks to watch: Tisco Securities' recommendations for the month are BCP, CK, HANA, PLANB, PYLON, ROJNA and TPIPP. For second-half picks, it suggests BTS, CK, EASTW, KTC, PLANB and ROJNA.
Capital Nomura Securities recommends stocks gaining from baht appreciation such as PTTEP, TASCO, TOA, AMATA, STPI, SABINA, BGRIM, JUBILE and TVO. Benefiting from low interest rates are SAWAD and AMANAH. The firm's top picks for August are SABINA, AMANAH, CPF, JMART, AMATA, TASCO and SCB.
Technical view: CGS-CIMB Securities Thailand sees support at 1,650 points and resistance at 1,690. KT Zmico Securities sees support 1,680 and resistance at 1,730.
