Recap: Global stocks tracked solid corporate earnings growth while Chinese equities slipped to their lowest in the month on concerns about regulatory crackdowns. Asian and emerging market shares also edged lower on Friday. The MSCI World Index gained 1.1% for the month.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,516.77 and 1,551.43 points this week before closing yesterday at 1521.92, down 1.5% from the previous week, in daily turnover averaging 79.18 billion baht.
Institutional investors were net buyers of 1.39 billion baht, retail investors bought 816.6 million and brokerage firms purchased 635.3 million baht worth of shares. Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.84 billion baht.
Newsmakers: The US economic recovery is showing signs of progress, but not enough to end the easy money policies in place since last year, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
- Inflation rates in developed countries, particularly in the US and among nations in the European Union, have been rising since the beginning of the year, in part because of large stimulus schemes designed to rehabilitate economies battered by the pandemic.
- Chinese markets endured a rout after Beijing forced many companies in the booming tutoring industry to register as non-profit organisations, effectively wiping out business models in the multibillion-dollar sector, with analysts saying the firms were essentially "uninvestable".
- Didi Global is considering going private to placate Chinese authorities and compensate investors for losses just weeks after the ride-hailing firm listed in New York, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- The US Senate voted to advance a historic, trillion-dollar infrastructure package late Wednesday, a breakthrough after weeks of often-bitter negotiations on a bill that President Joe Biden said could "transform America".
- Foreign purchases of US homes declined for a fourth straight year as the Covid-19 pandemic sharply limited international travel.
- Apple said Tuesday its profit in the just-ended quarter nearly doubled amid improving consumer spending and a "growing sense of optimism" as pandemic lockdowns eased.
- Google parent Alphabet reported quarterly profit that had nearly tripled, as money poured in from ads on its search engine and YouTube video platform.
- Facebook said its profit doubled in the most recent quarter as digital advertising surged, but warned of slower growth in the months ahead.
- Gold prices topped $1,830 an ounce, on track for their biggest weekly gain in two months on fresh signs that the US Federal Reserve may not scale back stimulus and hike interest rates in the near term.
- Singapore aims to relax more virus curbs, including starting to allow quarantine-free travel in September, marking the first time it has set out a timeline to reopen borders that have been mostly shut for more than a year.
- Hong Kong's battered tourism sector has urged the government to reopen its border with mainland China as soon as possible or at least extend the lifespan of Covid vaccination centres, where more than 1,000 industry staff are working part-time.
- Myanmar's economy is expected to shrink by 18% in 2021, the World Bank said on Monday, as a result of massive unrest following a military coup and a resurgent coronavirus outbreak.
- The Finance Ministry slashed its 2021 growth forecast on Thursday to 1.3% from a previously predicted 2.3%, as the tourism-dependent country fights its biggest Covid outbreak to date.
- Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia again this year, following a 6.1% contraction last year, with economists continuing to slash forecasts amid surging infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival.
- The plan to allow vaccinated tourists in Phuket to also visit Koh Samui is in danger of being dropped, due to the recent surge in infections on the island in Surat Thani, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
- Phuket will persevere with its Sandbox tourism reopening scheme, despite a rise in new Covid infections, mostly infected locals who transferred from other provinces to receive treatment. On Thursday it barred all arrivals by land, sea and air, except for Sandbox tourists.
- Thai tourism this year is likely to reach its all-time low this year with international arrivals of just 1 million, the TAT said.
- Despite the coronavirus crisis, export growth momentum remains strong, with the dollar value of Thai shipments in June surging 43.8% year-on-year, the best month in 11 years.
- Krungsri Research has lifted its export growth forecast for 2021 to 13.5% from 9% earlier. Kasikorn Research Center earlier upgraded its prediction to 11.5% from 9%, while SCB Economic Intelligence Center (EIC) has a forecast of 15%.
- Japanese food and raw material suppliers remain keen on exploring opportunities to expand their products in the Thai market even though the domestic restaurant business is reeling from the pandemic.
- Around 20 large overseas online platform operators plan to register as value-added tax (VAT) payers in Thailand.
- The government's ban on moving construction workers during the latest Covid uptick has stalled progress of the Thai-Chinese high-speed rail project, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) said.
- The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) plans to ask the government to provide more Covid vaccines to 8,000 foreign investors and businesspeople.
- The draft of a new excise tax for the electric vehicle (EV) industry is on track and is expected to be finished this year, said Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the Excise Department.
- The oil and gas conglomerate PTT Group continues to strengthen its presence in the EV industry by establishing a new subsidiary, EVME Plus Co, to operate services from EV rental to charging and maintenance.
- Clover Power Plc (CV), a renewable energy plant developer and operator, is seeking SEC approval for an IPO of 320 million shares, or 25% of total common shares.
- Coming up: China, Germany the euro zone and US will release July manufacturing PMI on Monday. Australia will announce its August interest rate decision on Tuesday.
- The Bank of Thailand will announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday, Australia will release June retail sales, and the US will release July nonfarm employment change and non-manufacturing PMI.
- Thailand will release July inflation and consumer confidence on Thursday, while Australia, the US and Canada will release June trade figures. The US will release July payrolls on Friday and China will release July trade figures on Saturday.
Stocks to watch: Capital Nomura Securities recommends selective buying of stocks with good earnings growth such as those related to hospitals and medical equipment. Top picks are BDMS, BCH, CHG, EKH, SMD and WINMED. It also recommends firms that will benefit from the weak baht, including KCE, HANA, TU, PM and ASIAN. High-dividend stocks are ADVANC and TVO.
- UOB Kay Hian Securities recommends utility stocks to avoid market volatility, among them RATCH, EASTW, WHAUP and TTW. Shares of food companies expected to have dramatic earnings growth are TVO, TU, CPF, GFPT and TWPC. For speculative trading, the broker suggests SCGP and BGC.
Technical view: Maybank Kim Eng Securities sees support at 1,480 points and resistance at 1,542. Capital Nomura sees support at 1,501 and resistance at 1,554.
