Recap: Global stocks rebounded amid optimism about the outcome of China-US trade negotiations and Fed chairman Jerome Powell's dovish comments on US interest rates. Still, the extended US government shutdown continues to weigh on business confidence and could take a toll on consumer confidence.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,579.20 and 1,609.39 points before closing at 1,597.04, up 1.4% from the previous week, in moderate turnover averaging 45.19 billion baht a day.
Institutional investors were net buyers of 4.59 billion baht. Retail investors were net sellers of 2.84 billion baht, foreign investors sold 1.46 billion and brokerage firms offloaded 289.83 million worth of shares.
Newsmakers: Three days of US-Chinese talks aimed at ending a costly tariff battle wrapped up on Wednesday amid an optimistic atmosphere but with no concrete commitments or details on further negotiations. President Donald Trump tweeted that they were "going very well!"
Trade conflicts between the world's two largest economic powers are already inflicting collateral damage and threaten to do yet more harm to the global economy, the World Bank warned.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday called for a general election in Britain to resolve the deadlock in parliament over Brexit. The Labour leader argued that he would renegotiate the agreement with Brussels if he came to power.
Unemployment in the euro zone fell to a 10-month low to 7.9% in November as joblessness neared pre-2008 crisis levels.
A Japanese court on Wednesday rejected a bid by former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to end his detention over alleged financial misconduct, a day after he denied all accusations in a dramatic court appearance.
Amazon.com last Monday became world's biggest publicly traded company with a market capitalisation of US$796.8 billion, overtaking Microsoft and other tech behemoths.
Samsung Electronics has flagged its first quarterly profit drop in two years, painting a grim outlook amid mounting competition from Chinese smartphone makers and declining chip prices.
Turnover attributed to retail investors on the Stock Exchange of Thailand declined to around 37.2% as of the end of 2018 as investors switched from stock trades to investment in single-stock futures and other derivatives on the Thailand Futures Exchange, market authorities said.
The baht is projected to appreciate against the US dollar in the medium to long term because of slower interest-rate normalisation in the US and adverse effects from the US-China trade dispute, says the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations.
Thanachart Bank (TBank) is preparing to lift fixed-deposit rates across the board next week, following in the footsteps of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Kasikornbank (KBANK). The 25-basis-point rate increase will require approval from the bank's board, said executive vice-president Anuwat Luengtaweekul.
Kittiphun Anutarasoti, chief executive at CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT), has cried foul over the outcome of a Krungthai Bank investigation into the state-owned bank's earlier lending to the beleaguered coal trader Energy Earth Plc (EARTH). Mr Kittiphun, who worked with KTB at the time, is among those alleged to have engaged in improper lending practices.
The Finance Ministry has approved operating licences for three digital asset exchanges and one cryptocurrency broker-dealer. It rejected two other applicants on grounds that their asset maintenance and Know Your Customer systems did not meet SEC standards.
The government will allow the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway planned from Bangkok to Nong Khai to secure funding from overseas financial institutions, instead of from only domestic sources as stipulated earlier.
A draft bill on e-business tax, a levy on foreign-based online platform operators earning income in Thailand, is at risk of not being vetted by lawmakers before the government leaves office, sources said this week.
Siam Commercial Bank's Economic Intelligence Centre is less bullish than before about the economic outlook in 2019, downgrading its GDP growth forecast to 3.8% amid increasing uncertainty on the domestic and overseas fronts.
The global economic downturn could dampen foreign demand for condominiums in Thailand and create a higher risk of excess supply, says the Bank of Thailand.
Discouraged by the drop in exports for two consecutive months in October and November last year, the Thai National Shippers Council has conceded that overall exports in 2018 might miss its 8% growth forecast.
The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday will seek cabinet approval for a proposal to put medical supplies and medical service charges on the state price control list as part of efforts to deal with price gouging.
Thai fisheries operators expressed relief after the European Union on Tuesday withdrew Thailand from yellow-card status in recognition of its progress in tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The SET-listed developer Lalin Property Plc will raise down payment requirements for new single house and townhouse projects being launched this year to 10-15% from the usual 5% to prepare customers for the new lending curbs.
The SET-listed coal mining and power company Banpu Plc aims to ship 2 million tonnes of coal to Vietnamese buyers in 2019 to serve growing demand in that country.
Coming up: Australia will release December business confidence on Monday, while China will release December trade figures and the US will announce the November trade balance.
Germany will release full-year 2018 GDP growth and the government budget on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Germany and Britain will release December inflation and the US will release preliminary December retail sales.
Australia will release a consumer confidence update on Thursday and Britain will release the Bank of England's credit conditions and bank liabilities survey.
On Friday, Japan and Canada will release December inflation data and the US will release the preliminary consumer sentiment index for January.
Stocks to watch: Finansia Syrus Securities (FSS) suggests avoiding the ICT sector for now in light of a recent case in which DTAC agreed to pay 9.5 billion baht to settle a legal dispute with CAT Telecom. The firm still has to settle other issues related to excise tax and network connections, the broker said. Since ADVANC and TRUE also have a number of disputes with the two state telecom firms awaiting arbitration or Administrative Court rulings, this has put pressure on share prices and valuations.
FSS recommends accumulating stocks after recent near-term profit-taking. Its top picks in January are BBL, BEM, CK, CPALL and ERW.
Bualuang Securities recommends strategic asset allocation based on long-term targets in broad asset classes that best fit an investor's risk-return profile. Investors are advised to take into account the return, risk and correlation of each individual asset class. They should occasionally rebalance their portfolios to bring the asset mix back to the desired strategic weightings, the broker says.
Technical view: Maybank Kim Eng Securities Thailand sees support at 1,580 points and resistance at 1,615. Phillips Securities Thailand sees support at 1,575 and resistance at 1,610.