1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,599.65 points, decreased 14.57 points or 0.90% with a trading value of 49 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market edged lower, following the negative sentiment from the U.S. over SVB Financial Group with its loans to startup businesses, putting more pressure on top of the existing concerns over Fed’s rate hike.
The analyst recommended investors to monitor the U.S. nonfarm payroll tonight and inflation data next week.
2) Japan officially appoints Kazuo Ueda as next BOJ governor
Kyodo reported that the House of Councilors has approved Ueda, clearing the way for his formal appointment by the government.
The parliament also approved Shinichi Uchida and Ryozo Himino as the next Bank of Japan deputy governors, according to Kyodo.
The yen recovered after falling in Friday morning trading. On the basis of deteriorating risk sentiment and in anticipation of BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s final policy announcement, the yen surged the most in a month on Thursday.
The upcoming meeting of the central bank is not expected to result in any changes to monetary policy, according to a Reuters poll.
3) Xi Jinping unanimously elected for third term as president of China
Xi Jinping was unanimously elected as the president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC on Friday at the 14th National People’s Congress.
The president made a public pledge of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.
Xi began his third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party last October.
4) SVB Financial shares plunge 60% on stock sale plan to offset bond losses
SVB Financial Group shares lost over $80 billion in value overnight, falling by US$161.79, or 60.41%, to US$106.04, the biggest loss since the bank’s 1988 IPO. During extended trading hours, the stock price fell another 22.20%, to US$82.50.
Stock trading was halted several times during the session due to high volatility.
The lender began a share sale on Wednesday with a total offering of US$1.75 billion in an effort to bolster its balance sheet and handle dwindling deposits from startups that are battling higher spending and a lack of available money.
