1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,621.95 points, decreased 16.98 points or 1.04% with a trading value of 79 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market edged lower in the same direction as international markets from a selloff due to concerns over Fed’s interest rate hike that could continue into 2023 at a higher level. Meanwhile, the decrease in crude oil prices pressured the energy sector in the SET Index.
The analyst expected SET Index to move in sideways-trends tomorrow in a limited range, giving a support level at 1,615-1,605 points and a resistance level at 1,640-1,650 points.
2) German retail sales beat expectations with 1.9% rise
German retail sales for July came in better-than-expected, posting its biggest jump in six months with a rise of 1.9% MoM. The data beat analysts estimates for another drop of 0.4%.
Compared to the same period of last year, the decline in retail sales shrank to 2.6% from 9.6% in June, which was also ahead of expectations by analysts.
3) Taiwan looks forward to produce “democracy chips” with US
Taiwan stated that it was looking forward to producing “democracy chips” with the United States.
At the meeting with US senior officials in the presidential office in Taipei, the president said that Taiwan seeks to bolster cooperation with the United States in semiconductor and other high-tech.
“We look forward to jointly producing democracy chips to safeguard the interests of our democratic partners and create greater prosperity,” Tsai Ing-wen said.
Meanwhile, the Republican Governor, Doug Ducey, told president Tsai Ing-wen that their partnership was “the greatest” in the semiconductor industry. However, China claims the island of Taiwan as its territory despite the strong objections from Taipei, which has its own democratically elected government.
4) China locks down Chengdu as Covid cases surge
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and one of the largest cities in China, is home to over 21 million people. All residents were ordered to stay at home from 6.00 pm from Thursday (Sep 1), with households allowed to send one person a day to shop for necessities, the city government said in a statement.
Chengdu is the largest city to be shut down since Shanghai was closed for two months earlier this year. It was unclear whether the lockdown would be lifted when the major testing operation ended on Sunday.
