Bitcoin rallied to a record high of $75,000 on Wednesday, as Donald Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election, raising hopes for more crypto-friendly regulations.
The biggest cryptocurrency surged nearly 10% over 24 hours to a record, but eased back to around $74,100 amid profit-taking by Wednesday evening Thailand time. Prices of other tokens also rose with Ethereum, the world’s second-most popular cryptocurrency, up 9.1% to $2,622.90.
The crypto market welcomed a Trump presidency based on his pro-crypto statements during the campaign and his pledge to enact regulations that are friendly to the industry.
The dollar gained and US bond yields surged on Wednesday, based on expectations that interest rates will be cut more slowly than expected, with Mr Trump focusing on running budget deficits to stimulate the economy.
Spot gold, which had flirted with $2,800 an ounce last week, declined to $2,726.42 as the dollar rose. Locally, gold was trading at 44,050 baht per baht-weight (15.2 grammes), up 400 baht from the day before, according to the Thai Gold Traders Association.
While most global equity markets rose in response to the US election results, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) finished the day down 14.25 points at 1,467.42, amid concerns over a potential escalation of the US-China trade war under the new Trump administration.
Mr Trump has proposed increasing tariffs by another 10-20% on most foreign products and as high as 60% on goods from China, potentially leading to production relocation from China and affecting the world’s supply chain.
Potential implications of the election, inflation, the Federal Reserve’s delayed rate cuts, and dollar appreciation have triggered early signs of foreign capital outflows from Asian equity markets, said Mr Soraphol.
“The US presidential election has driven short-term stock market volatility, with unpredictable voting outcomes and sharp policy differences between Republican and Democratic candidates fuelling investor uncertainty,” he said.
In October, average daily trading turnover on the SET was 54.8 billion baht, up 16% from the previous month, driven by prominent supporting factors such as the establishment of the Vayupak Fund, the reduction of global and domestic interest rates, and the government’s economic stimulus measures. Average trading value for the first 10 months of 2024 was 47.3 billion baht.
In addition, domestic institutional investors increased their investment proportion to 10% for the first time since the pandemic, from an average of 7-8%, as various positive factors propelled investors’ confidence.
As of the end of October, the SET index had risen to 1,466.04 points, up 1.2% from September, considered higher than the average return of other stock indices in the region. The bourse is up 3.5% from the end of 2023.
Foreign investors accounted for 47% of market trading, with net selling in October of roughly $845 million. Accumulated net sales from the beginning of 2024 were $3.43 billion.