Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,413.52 points, decreased 1.41 points or 0.10% with a trading value of 45.4 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market slowed down as the market awaited the US Fed inflation figures and the election in Taiwan. The selloff among bank stocks swayed the index to the negative territory, following the downgrade from foreign brokers. Meanwhile, power plant stocks rose as they benefited from the surge in electricity price, and finance stocks expected the support from lower interest rate. The analyst expected the market to trade sideways tomorrow.
The World Bank sees 2024 Global GDP growth at 2.4%, compared to the 2.6% forecast last year, marking the downtrend for three years straight. As for last June’s projections, the forecast for 2023 has been revised up by 0.5 percentage point, mainly reflecting the strength of the US economy, whereas that for 2024 is unchanged, with a sizable upgrade to US growth accompanied by a downward revision to euro area activity. The World Bank also lowered the 2025 Global GDP growth, estimated to 2.7% from 3% earlier, as inflation continues to soften, interest rates decline, and trade growth firms.
Thailand GDP was revised down -0.4 percentage points and -0.3 percentage points for 2024 and 2025, respectively, to 3.2% and 3.1% as monetary policy actions across East Asia and Pacific (EAP) diverged somewhat in the second half of 2023. Interest rates rose further in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, reflecting varying factors including currency depreciation in the face of US dollar strength, inflationary pressures and, in the case of Thailand, policy normalization following a period of low interest rates.
Weaker discretionary household spending in China, including the lower demand for international travel, would also affect some countries in the region, causing the tourism recovery in some of the region’s economies, including Cambodia and Thailand, to contract.
