RECAP: Asian equities fell yesterday in subdued activity after the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Chinese shares led declines as investors weighed recent gains against an upswing in Covid-19 infections, which reached a new single-day high above 30,000 infections.
The More Return Plc (MORE) investigation slowed trading of small-cap stocks, with trade on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) losing 5.0% over the week.
The SET Index moved in a range of 1,630.08 to 1,611.45 points before ending at 1,620.84, up 0.21% from the previous week, in turnover averaging 45.9 billion baht a day.
Retail investors were net sellers of 3.69 billion baht, followed by institutions selling 1.77 billion and brokers 130 million. Foreign investors were net buyers of 5.59 billion baht.
NEWSMAKERS: Chinese authorities are poised to fine billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Group at least $1 billion, sources have told Bloomberg, which would cap a two-year regulatory overhaul of the fintech company. Beijing halted Ant's mega-IPO two years ago as part of a crackdown on what it saw as excesses in the tech sector.
- US stocks rose in pre-holiday trade on Wednesday after minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting showed "a substantial majority" of officials favour slowing the pace of interest-rate increases. The Fed's next policy meeting is on Dec 13 and 14.
- Malaysian shares had their best one-day gain in two years and the ringgit jumped to a three-month high after the royal appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister, breaking a political deadlock following the country's closest-ever election.
- Singapore on Wednesday projected its economic growth next year would be as low as 0.5%, as an export slump underscores a worsening global outlook. The city-state recorded 4.1% year-on-year GDP growth in the third quarter of this year.
- ANZ Banking Group plans to withdraw from Myanmar by next year, citing increasing "operational complexity" facing international companies since the 2021 military coup.
- More than 20,000 employees in Zhengzhou, China have reportedly quit the world's largest iPhone factory run by Taiwan-based Foxconn, which has been grappling with strict Covid curbs that have led to clashes with authorities. Beijing this week locked down some 6 million people in Zhengzhou as new daily Covid cases continued to climb.
- China's economy will likely grow more than 5% next year if Covid disruptions end and the government enacts policies to boost confidence and consumption, says an adviser to the People's Bank of China. That's in line with forecasts by economists surveyed by Bloomberg, though they say GDP this year will rise only 3.3%.
- The embattled Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group says it is on track to shed over $3 billion worth of underperforming assets this year. Banks worry the debt-laden group may not survive unless it focuses on its strengths.
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has pledged to amass at least $1 billion for buying distressed crypto assets in an effort to restore confidence in the industry following the collapse of FTX, the world's second-largest crypto exchange after Binance.
- The Bank of Japan is working with the country's top three banks and regional financial institutions to launch trial transactions of a digital yen. A decision on whether to go ahead with a digital currency is not expected until 2026.
- The government of Ghana is working on a way to buy oil products with gold rather than US dollars. The aim is to ease pressure on foreign currency reserves amid demand for dollars by oil importers, which is weakening the local currency and increasing living costs.
- JD.com, China's largest online retailer after Alibaba, is cutting salaries for about 2,000 managers by 10-20% and diverting some of the savings towards employee benefits, Bloomberg reported.
- The Thai economy should expand by 3-4% next year, up from 3.2% projected this year, boosted by recovering tourism, expanding private and public investment and domestic demand, says the National Economic and Social Development Council. GDP expanded by 4.5% in the third quarter, accelerating from 2.3% and 2.5% in the first and second quarters, respectively.
- Export growth is expected to ease to 2-3% next year from an expected 7-8% this year, which has been helped by strong demand from emerging markets in Asia and the Middle East, says the Thai National Shippers' Council. In the first nine months of 2022, exports grew 10.6% to $221 billion. Imports rose by 20.7% to $236 billion.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday ordered Asia Wealth Securities (AWS) to cease all operations and transfer its assets to other securities companies after its net capital turned negative. The regulator said AWS used 158 million baht of clients' money without their consent to buy shares in scandal-hit MORE Return Plc.
- Shares of MORE, a previously little-known provider of water filtration and electricity-saving technologies, plunged below one baht yesterday as multiple investigations continued into allegedly fraudulent share transactions. The Anti-Money Laundering Office ordered several brokers to freeze assets related to some 5.37 billion baht worth of MORE and MORE-R stocks.
- The Indonesian government plans to press a new suit seeking damages of at least $1.7 billion from PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) over the Montara oil spill in 2009. PTTEP earlier paid $127 million to Indonesian seaweed farmers. Another lawsuit by Jakarta was dropped in 2017 but authorities now say long-term environmental damage needs to be addressed.
- Thai Airways International (THAI) says it requires only half the money it initially estimated would be needed for recapitalisation, given a rapid improvement in air travel demand as the pandemic ebbs. THAI has cut its borrowing target of 50 billion baht by half and is on track to emerge from rehabilitation by 2025.
COMING UP: Domestically, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Nov 30 will pressure the market early next week. Overseas factors include the release of US GDP for the third quarter, private sector recruitment and Purchasing Manufacturing index (PMI) of Nov, PMI of China and Japan, and Japan's industrial output of Oct would also influence the market next week.
STOCKS TO WATCH: Capital Nomura Securities believes stocks that benefited from the World Cup live broadcast, new rounds of economic stimulus measures, and China's potential reopening will drive the market. These include ADVANC, TRUE, ERW, CENTEL, MINT, CRC, CPALL, MAKRO , BJC, HMPRO, SPA, SNNP, ICHI, TIDLOR, and SISB. High-growth stocks are BE8, BBIK, JMT, JMART and SINGER. Anti-commodity group recommendations are SCGP, GPSC, TOA and GULF.
- Kingsford Securities views the Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate hikes, attracting fund inflow, and recommends buying retail stocks that benefit from the World Cup 2022 and Thailand's high-season tourism festivals, including MAKRO, CRC, COM7, MINT, CENTEL, ERW and AAV.
TECHNICAL VIEW: Maybank Securities sees support of 1,600 points and resistance of 1,670. Thanachart Securities sees support of 1,614 points and resistance of 1,640.