1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,558.36 points, decreased 6.74 points or 0.43% with a trading value of 57 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market closed lower in the same movement as regional markets amid concerns over Fed’s rate hikes and recession.
The analyst stated that the SET Index broke all resistance levels this week, but saw this as accumulating points while having strong fundamentals.
2) Thai sugar stocks soar as price hit 11-year high amid potential supply shortage in global market
Thai sugar stocks edged higher amid rising sugar prices that recently reached 11-year high with a potential to extend gains further. KBS (+7.87%), KTIS (+2.99%), KSL (+2.96%) and BRR (+5.19%).
Raw sugar futures (ICE SB1) rose to a 11-year high at 25.25 cents a pound amid forecast of shortage in global supply due to bad weather, while rising costs could be passed through to consumers.
3) Japan’s March core inflation remains at 3.1%; factory activity continues contracting in April
Core inflation in Japan remained stable at 3.1% in March, according to Statistics Bureau data released on Friday, showing the second consecutive month of falling inflation after reaching a 41-year high of 4.3% in January.
Still, the number was above the 2% target set by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), as businesses passed on the cost of rising to consumers.
In April, the purchasing managers’ index for Japan’s manufacturing sector increased to 49.5, up from 49.2. This was the sector’s slowest rate of shrinkage in six months. This is what preliminary data from the au Jibun Bank suggests.
A reading above 50 implies growth over the prior month, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction.
There was minimal change in April’s flash services PMI from March’s reading of 55, which was the second-highest since October 2013.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s economics associate director Annabel Fiddes, “Japan’s private sector continued to expand solidly at the start of Q2… with a resurgent service economy helping offset a weak manufacturing sector performance.”
The flash composite index for April was 52.5, down from March’s 52.9.
