Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,466.04 points, increased 18.84 points or 1.30% with a trading value of 42.73 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market exhibited a technical rebound, in contrast with the decline seen in the Asia markets. The rise in the Thai market was attributed to the purchase of big-cap stocks, such as DELTA, ADVANC, GULF, and PTTEP.
The analyst expected the Thai market to trade sideways tomorrow.
The Thai finance ministry projects the country’s economy to expand by 3% in 2025, driven by private consumption, exports, investment, and tourism. This growth estimate follows a previous forecast of 2.7% for 2024, and an actual growth rate of 1.9% in the previous year, which fell behind other economies in the region.
Looking ahead, the ministry anticipates a rise in foreign tourist arrivals from 36 million in 2024 to 39 million in 2025. Moreover, export growth is expected to strengthen from 2.9% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided to keep interest rates unchanged on Thursday and reiterated its forecast that inflation will persist near the 2% target in the upcoming years, indicating its preparedness to gradually retract its extensive monetary support measures.
The nine-member board unanimously voted to maintain the BOJ’s short-term policy rate at 0.25%, in line with market expectations.
Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Finance Minister, said on Wednesday that the capital gains tax for most assets would increase from 10% to 18% at the lower rate and from 20% to 24% for bigger earners. She added that the increasing tax would raise GBP 2.5 billion.
The increasing tax would bring the rate of most assets in line with the payable rate on property, which Reeves affirms would be maintained at 18-24%.
