Recap: There was a mixed picture for Asian stock markets as Thailand's benchmark index closed marginally higher and posted its best weekly percentage gain since October 2015, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped to end lower than the previous week. Risk-averse sentiment prevailed against the backdrop of the continued Covid-19 outbreak, with infections surpassing one million globally.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,073.37 and 1,156.69 points this week before closing at 1,138.84, up 3.6% from the previous week, in heavy turnover averaging 58.85 billion baht a day.
Institutional investors were net buyers of 5.4 billion baht and retail investors bought 4 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers of 9.2 billion baht and brokerage firms offloaded 214.8 million worth of shares.
Newsmakers: The number of coronavirus infections worldwide surpassed one million with deaths topping 53,000, including nearly 30,000 in Italy, Spain and the US combined, as the United Nations chief called the Covid-19 pandemic "humanity's worst crisis since World War II".
- The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits shot to a record high for a second week in a row -- topping 6 million -- as more jurisdictions enforced stay-at-home measures, which economists say has pushed the economy into recession.
- China's central bank on Monday cut an interest rate on loans to banks by the largest margin in five years and injected 50 billion yuan (US$7 billion) into the financial system to help the world's second-largest economy weather the impact of the virus.
- The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 next year, organisers said, after the coronavirus forced the historic decision to postpone the Games until 2021.
- The gourmet grocer Dean & DeLuca Inc, owned by SET-listed Pace Development Corporation Plc, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The US company, separate from the struggling Thai property firm's other Dean & Deluca operations, was already in serious financial trouble before the coronavirus struck.
- The Japanese tech investor SoftBank Group said on Thursday it had terminated a tender offer worth up to US$3 billion to acquire shares in WeWork, the US co-working company that rode a wave of hype to a huge valuation before its IPO plans collapsed.
- Thailand's exports are likely to shrink by as much as 500 billion baht or 7% this year due mainly to the Covid-19 pandemic, the worst showing in 10 years, according to a university study.
- Over 30,000 hotels are set to lose all revenue in April as the lockdown intensifies in provincial areas, while hoteliers in Phuket are bracing for the greatest losses. Of the 32,564 hotels registered in Thailand, some 95% expect to have zero income when they temporarily stop operations, according to the Thai Hotels Association.
- The economy is expected to contract every quarter this year, with the nadir in the second quarter, says the Bank of Thailand, before turning around next year.
- The World Bank says Thai GDP would shrink by 5% this year in a worst-case scenario if the Covid-19 outbreak is prolonged and the recovery slow, compounding existing problems including drought.
- Thailand's cross-border trade fell by 6.5% year-on-year in the first two months of 2020 as the coronavirus snarled the global economy and logistics systems.
- Thailand's banking sector is strong enough to withstand a potential upsurge in bad debt and restructuring cases stemming from the Covid-19 outbreak, says a senior official at the Bank of Thailand.
- The government plans to appropriate 10% of the fiscal 2020 budgets of each ministry for a central fund to fight the pandemic and rehabilitate the economy.
- The Industry Ministry will suspend debt payments for 12 months for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the Covid-19 outbreak who borrowed from the 20-billion-baht Pracha Rat fund.
- PTT Plc is pushing ahead with its plan to list its wholly owned subsidiary, PTT Oil and Retail Business Co (PTTOR), on the Stock Exchange of Thailand by floating shares accounting for 25%.
- Total asset value worth 60 billion baht from "Super Savings Fund extra" units, offered by 13 asset management companies, is expected to help shore up investment volume on the local stock market, says the Association of Investment Management Companies.
- TMBAM Eastspring began allocating the first rebate of investors' money after terminating four fixed-income funds, with hopes that the process will be completed within 90 days.
- NokScoot acknowledges that may take longer than other airlines to recover from the current crisis because of its dependence on international routes.
Coming up: Australia will release January trade figures on Tuesday and Canada will release March Ivey PMI.
Japan will release March consumer confidence on Thursday, with Britain and Germany announcing February trade figures the same day. China and the US will release March inflation data on Friday.
Stocks to watch: DBS Vickers Securities Thailand recommends a medium- to long-term investment strategy, focusing on good fundamentals, defensive and high-dividend stocks such as ADVANC,CHG, KKP, TISCO, AP and LH. Consumer stocks benefiting from government aid policies are CPALL, BJC, HMPRO and COM7. The curfew announcement is negative for transport-related stocks BTSGIF, BTS and BEM.
Tisco Securities' top five picks are ADVANC, CPALL, CPF, INTUCH and RATCH. Its recommendations for April are BAM, BJC, DTAC, PTTEP, RBF, SCC and TVO.
Technical view: DBS Vickers Securities Thailand sees support at 1,070 points and resistance at 1,160. Capital Nomura Securities sees support at 1,024 and resistance at 1,211.
