Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,362.70 points, decreased 3.67 points or 0.27% with a trading value of 33.87 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market traded narrowly with low volume and no supporting factors. There were selloffs of DELTA, AOT, PTT, and big-cap stocks to derisk the MSCI rebalance.
The analyst expected the market to trade sideways tomorrow, as investors kept their eyes on the MSCI rebalance and inflation numbers from the US.
Corporate services prices in Japan saw their most significant increase since early 2015 in April, according to data from the Bank of Japan reported on Tuesday. The rise of 2.8% year-on-year in the Corporate Services Price Index (CSPI) for April, compared to a 2.4% rise in the previous month, reflects a positive trend, particularly driven by rising labour costs in the services sector.
In April, service prices increased by 0.7% from March, although this growth rate was slightly slower compared to the previous month’s 0.9%. The increase in labour costs was particularly notable in labour-intensive service industries like machine repair and industrial facility renovation.
Thailand welcomed 14.3 million foreign visitors from the beginning of this year up until May 26, representing an increase by 38% YoY as the figure is gradually reaching the target number of 36 million for 2024.
Among arrivals in Thailand this year, Chinese tourists topped the list at 2.8 million, followed by 1.9 million visitors from Malaysia and 836,868 from Russia, while India and South Korea were also among top of the list.
As per the tourism ministry, foreign tourists have generated 683 billion baht so far this year.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang commended the reconciliation in relations with Japan and South Korea as he engaged in the first trilateral talks in four years on Monday, expressing a joint commitment to rejuvenate trade and security discussions that had been hindered by global tensions.
During the meeting in Seoul with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the focus was on reviving negotiations for a three-party free trade agreement that had been at a standstill since 2019.
In response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s imposition of barriers to Chinese imports, including increased tariffs on various items like electric vehicle batteries and computer chips, Li articulated the need to advocate for multipolarity globally and oppose the formation of blocs or alliances.
The US stock market is set to return to a one-business-day settlement cycle for share trades, a practice last seen a century ago. This change, which halves the time required to finalize transactions, is part of new Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and will be effective beginning Tuesday. Similar transitions to the T+1 system were also implemented in Canada and Mexico on Monday.
The move to T+1 settlement aims to mitigate risks in the financial system. Despite the anticipated benefits, concerns have been raised regarding potential challenges, such as international investors facing difficulties in sourcing dollars promptly, discrepancies in the speed of movement for global funds and their assets, and the decreased timeframe available for error correction.
