1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,622.26 points, increased 5.05 points or 0.31% with a trading value of 78 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market was volatile in today’s session after the recognition of US inflation slowing down and Thai central bank’s rate hike, while Thai banks could not raise their interest rate as of now, resulting in a negative sentiment to the sector.
The analyst expected the SET Index to create a new base around 1,600 levels next week while looking for new catalysts.
2) Thai consumer sentiment rises two straight months in July after easing of Covid restrictions
Consumer confidence in Thailand increased for the second consecutive month in July, as the reopening of the country boosted the tourism industry, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce reported on Thursday.
The index surged to 42.4 in July, up from June’s reading of 41.6.
The key supporting factors included the scrapping of Thailand Pass registration in early July, which made it much easier for foreign visitors to enter the country after the pandemic, a global widespread Covid-19 vaccination campaign, and the central bank’s decision to maintain its growth forecast for 2022 at 3.5%.
3) Probability for 75bps rate hike by Fed in September drops sharply to 35%
After the U.S. inflation hit a fresh 40-year high of 9.1% in June, the market was incline to see a 75bps rate hike by the Federal Reserve in the September’s meeting, following Fed’s chair Jerome Powell’s vow to focus on bringing down inflation rate even at the cost of hurting its economy.
However, a lower-than-expected figure for July could prompt the Fed to rethink its move going forward to be less hawkish than the market had anticipated as the probability for a 75bps hike in September went down from 80% pre-CPI report to only 35% after.
