1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,570.57 points, decreased 9.09 points or 0.58% with a trading value of 53 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved in sideways directions, following the movement of international markets in concerns of Fed’s aggressive rate hikes due to strong labour markets. Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to the U.S. inflation data for September, scheduled to release this week.
The analyst expected SET Index to slowly recover after the correction.
2) Moscow Stock Exchange plummets as war with Ukraine intensified
Moscow stock exchange dropped 12% at opening on Monday on intensifying geopolitical risks and a sharp drop in Gazprom shares as it started trading ex-dividend.
Several international media agencies report that on Monday morning, Russia bombed cities across Ukraine, in apparent revenge strikes after President Vladimir Putin declared an explosion on the bridge to Crimea to be a terrorist attack.
Prior to the attack, Putin accused Ukraine of what he called a terrorist attack on a key bridge linking Russia and Crimea.
The Kerch Strait Bridge, a symbol of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and also a vital artery of Sevastopol where the Russian Black Sea fleet is based, exploded on Saturday (October 8), causing three casualties at the scene.
3) Fears of lockdown looms in Shanghai as China covid cases surge
Ahead of the Party Congress, China is advancing measures to contain Covid-19 outbreaks, after nationwide cases have reached their highest level in almost two months, prompting fears of lockdowns in Shanghai.
After a weeklong National Day holiday, Covid cases spiked to 1,878 on Sunday as tourists returned home. The figures reached a record high not seen since August 20. Meanwhile, financial hub Shanghai reported its highest number of new local infections in over three months, with 34 cases.
Even a city with no reported cases of the virus has gone into lockdown, a sign of the rising tensions across the country. For example, Yongji, a city in southwestern China, imposed a three-day lockdown beginning Friday evening to prevent probable cases of travelers returning home after the holiday. Chinese netizens criticized the local government for becoming “overzealous” after the measure was announced, according to Reuters.
4) Malaysian PM announces dissolution of parliament to open for snap elections
Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved the parliament on Monday afternoon, triggering a snap election that must be held within 60 days.
Speculations of dissolving the party intensified over the weekend after the PM paid a visit to the King on Sunday for the second time in four years in which he later said today that he received the King’s consent to dissolve Parliament.
Under Malaysia’s constitution, general elections must be held within 60 days of the dissolution of Parliament. Thus, the latest date would be December 9, 2022.
