1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,533.30 points, increased 4.87 points or 0.32% with a trading value of 54 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market bounced back in the afternoon session after falling more than 20 points earlier in the morning. The analyst saw a buyback as the market continuously slid in the past few days. Meanwhile, Thai inflation for April also slowed down.
2) Thai business confidence drops again in April as demand slowdown
Thai business confidence dropped again in April, with sentiments turning into less positive in the food and beverage and manufacturing sectors as new orders and exports to major trading partners plummeted in response to a weakening global economy, the Bank of Thailand reported on Wednesday.
In April, the indicator of business confidence in Thailand slipped to 50.1 from a four-and-a-half-year high of 52.9 in March. Lower production confidence, financial performance, and new orders were cited as the main reasons for a drop in business mood last month, but the central bank also pointed out that April had fewer working days than March.
Taking into account seasonal factors, Thailand’s business confidence index climbed to 50.9 in April from 50.6 in March. While the three-month outlook for business sentiment increased to 56.1, with gains across the board.
3) Thailand’s inflation rises slower-than-expected in April, MoC sees sharp fall in May
Thailand’s headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.67% in April from a year earlier, according to the commerce ministry on Wednesday, beating the analyst forecasts from a Reuters poll for a 2.70% rise.
Core inflation rose 1.66% year-over-year, compared to 1.70% expected by a Reuters poll.
The Commerce Ministry said that consumer prices will fall sharply and below the 2% level in May.
4) Federal Reserve expected to hike rate by 0.25% before pausing in June
Federal Reserve policymakers are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 2-3) to review their progress in bringing down inflation from its 40-year high, with markets betting that the Federal Open Market Committee (EOMC) will continue to raise interest rates by 25 basis points and then pause in June.
The markets have widely priced in another rate hike from the Federal Reserve at its May meeting, bringing the target range for the federal funds rate to 5.0%-5.25%. However, some traders believe the rate will remain unchanged at the current range of 4.75%-5.0%.
