Recap: Stocks and bonds climbed globally alongside US equity futures yesterday as investors cheered the unprecedented measures being taken by central banks and governments to shield jobs and economies from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,010.60 and 1,105.20 points on the week before closing yesterday at 1,127.24, down 0.1% from the previous week (when it lost 17.9%), in turnover averaging 69.83 billion baht a day.
Institutional investors were net buyers of 14.4 billion baht, retail investors bought 8.9 billion and brokerage firms purchased 3.6 billion worth of shares. Foreign investors were net sellers of 26.9 billion baht.
Newsmakers: The first human trial to evaluate a candidate vaccine against the new coronavirus has begun in Seattle, while of Wuhan, the centre of China's coronavirus outbreak, reported no new infections for the first time, in contrast to a surge in imported cases led by new infections in Beijing.
- The US Federal Reserve announced drastic emergency measures to shore up confidence and keep the financial sector running, including slashing its key interest rate to almost zero. The Trump administration is considering a stimulus plan that could reach US$1.2 trillion, while the European Central Bank is planning to spend €750 billion on "emergency" bond purchases.
- Joe Biden won the Arizona primary over Bernie Sanders, giving him a sweep of the three US states that voted on Tuesday to choose a Democratic candidate to face President Trump in November.
- Malaysia has started a two-week lockdown. All public activities -- religious or otherwise -- have to be postponed, businesses must shut down except for markets and shops that sell daily necessities. Schools also have to close.
- The Philippine stock market recorded its biggest one-day loss in history on Thursday, after trading resumed following an unprecedented two-day shutdown. The index closed down more than 13% at an eight-year low, after a record-setting intraday plunge of 24.3%.
- Vietnam Airlines said it would suspend all international flights until at least April 30 because of the coronavirus outbreak. The budget carrier VietJet Air suspended all flights to major Southeast Asian destinations from yesterday.
- The Bank of Thailand still has monetary policy space for further rate cuts to cushion the impacts from Covid-19, and will take into account the US Federal Reserve's emergency rate cut at its meeting on March 25, says a senior Finance Ministry official.
- The Stock Exchange of Thailand revised the regulations for triggering a circuit-breaker, to an 8% decline from a 10% decline earlier, and the ceiling and floor limits for securities products in a bid to curb volatility. The rule changes will be in effect until June 30.
- The Bank of Thailand says all financial institutions must continue providing seven financial services -- deposits, money withdrawals, fund transfers, payments, cash management and settlement systems -- in an effort to avoid potential virus-related disruption.
- Internal Trade Department director-general Whichai Phochanakij tendered his resignation, a day after being transferred to an inactive post pending an investigation into the shortage of face masks, effective April 23.
- The Thai Chamber of Commerce is calling on the government to come up with urgent measures to help "salarymen" as many employers have begun putting their workers on 15 days' unpaid leave.
- The Tourism Ministry is poised to return 1.4 billion baht in deposits to tour companies that registered with the Tourism Department, while acknowledging that a year-long pandemic could slash the number of international visitors this year by 75%, to 10 million.
- Tourism operators complain they have not yet received financial aid despite a green light from the Bank of Thailand, saying at least 5,000 firms have closed or suspended operations. They are also urging the government to enforce a two-week lockdown to keep the virus from spreading and creating a deeper impact on the economy.
- Several insurance companies are poised to suspend sales of Covid-19 insurance products with a lump-sum payout as policy sales approach their threshold of 500,000 to 750,000.
- Mobile phone SIM cards with unlimited internet service will be distributed to inbound travellers for free before they pass through immigration counters as part of a move to help track arrivals amid the coronavirus outbreak.
- The Land Transport Federation of Thailand expects shipments via land transport to continue to drop because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
- The spread of Covid-19 in Asia is expected to contribute to a 3.1% decline in unit sales of motor vehicles this year as the region deals with supply chain disruption and consumer caution, Fitch Solutions has forecast.
- Thailand's IT spending will be subdued this year, with meagre or flat growth as the best-case scenario, according to tech pundits.
- The government is working with four digital platform providers and six telecom operators to provide free downloadable online platforms and free internet airtime for civil servants and state enterprise employees so they can work from home.
- B.Grimm Power Plc has acquired a 70% stake in Angthong Power Co, a gas-fired power plant under the small power producer scheme, for 2.52 billion baht.
- SET-listed PTG Energy Plc (PTG), the owner of the PT fuel retail brand, says it will allocate 5 billion baht to expand further into non-oil businesses and upgrade existing facilities.
- FWD Group has struck a deal to sell its bancassurance partnership contract with TMB Bank to Prudential Life Assurance Thailand in a deal worth 20 billion baht, according to the Hong Kong-based insurer.
Coming up: Germany will release the March business climate outlook on Wednesday, Britain will release February inflation, and the US will release February durable goods orders.
- The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday, with the US releasing final fourth-quarter GDP data and Germany releasing April consumer confidence the same day.
- The US will release February personal income and spending data on Friday.
Stocks to watch: KTB Securities Thailand recommends investing in large-cap stocks with high dividend payments and those with share prices that have become very cheap. Its picks are PTT, ADVANC, GULF, RATCH and BAM.
Kasikorn Securities recommends investing in large-cap stocks where share prices still remain low compared to fair value. Its picks are SCC, BEM, PTTGC, CPALL and GPSC.
Technical view: Kasikorn Securities sees support at 1,100 points and resistance at 1,180. KTB Securities Thailand sees support at 1,100 and resistance at 1,200.
