1) Thai stock market roundup
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,633.45 points, decreased 5.14 points or 0.31% with a trading value of 70 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved narrowly with selling pressure in the afternoon session ahead of the Fed’s meeting and guidance tonight, while US bond yields rose almost 4% as the market anticipated that the Fed could continue the rate hike cycle until March next year when inflation slows and the economy remains stable.
2) Russia’s Putin orders partial military mobilization
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s first mobilization since World War II on Wednesday, threatening that if the West persisted in its “nuclear blackmail,” Moscow would respond with the full force of Russia’s extensive military.
According to Russia’s defense minister, 300,000 reservists will be called up, and those with previous military experience would be prioritized.
3) US dollar climbs to near 20-year high ahead of Fed’s rate hike and escalating war with Russia
The US dollar climbed near a 20-year high in early European trading Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s first mobilization since World War II and traders anticipated another big rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
The Dollar Index, which measures the value of the dollar in comparison to a group of six other currencies, was up 0.5% at 110.457 at 14:00 Thai time, drawing near to the 20-year high of 110.79 reached earlier this month.
4) Asia’s developing nations to grow faster than China this year, ADB Says
The Asian Development Bank now forecasts 4.3% growth in developing Asian economies in 2022 and 4.9% growth in 2023; however, excluding China, the group is expected to grow by 5.3% in 2022. In China, the bank projects 3.3% growth in 2022.
This will be the first time in over three decades that the rest of developing Asia will expand faster than China, the latest report by the Manila-based lender said.
“The last time was in 1990, when (China’s) growth slowed to 3.9% while GDP in the rest of the region expanded by 6.9%,” it said.
Both of these figures represent further reductions from previous projections; for example, its growth forecast for China was reduced from 5% to 4% in July. The Asian Development Bank said that was because of sporadic lockdowns caused by the country’s zero-Covid policy, problems in the property sector, and slower economic activity due to decreased external demand.
