"Thai stocks lead SE Asian peers on election announcement" BANGKOK, January 23 -- The SET index rises after a royal decree calling for the election was announced on Wednesday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index climbed almost 1% after a royal decree for a general election was issued on Wednesday. The SET index added 15.61 points or 0.97% to end the day at 1,617.38, in trade of 67.87 billion baht. Stock heavyweights PTT Plc, Kasikornbank Plc, Airports of Thailand Plc and Siam Commercial Bank Plc were among the most active stocks. The index jumped soon after His Majesty the King issued the royal decree for the election, which took immediate effect, followed by the poll date of March 24 set by the Election Commission hours later. The Thai shares were also buoyed by financials and telecoms. Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand said the baht's strength is in line with regional currencies, as the dollar has weakened. The baht, Asia's best performing currency, has appreciated about 2.6% against the dollar this year, hovering around its highest in more than eight months hit last week. "Expectations of foreign inflows into Thai assets also weigh on the pair (USD-THB). This is in contrast to yesterday where foreign investors sold $39.1 million and $46.8 million in equities and debt," Maybank said in a note. Malaysian shares snapped three straight sessions of gains and closed 0.8% lower, weighed down by the material and financial sectors. The Malaysian market dropped ahead of a central bank meeting. Shares of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd dropped 6.1%, while those of CIMB group Holdings Bhd fell 1.9%. Bank Negara Malaysia will likely keep its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at 3.25% at its policy review on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, with the last move a year ago, when it raised the rate by 25 basis points. The consumer price index likely rose 0.4% in December from a year earlier, a Reuters poll showed, slightly faster than the previous month. Among other losers, Singapore dropped 0.7% after data showed inflation rose more than expected in December. The headline consumer price index rose 0.5% in December from a year earlier, higher than the 0.4% rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll and the 0.3% increase in November. Financials and industrials were among the top losers with DBS Group Holdings Ltd shedding 1.6% and Hutchison Port Holdings Trust dipping 2%. Philippine shares erased most of earlier losses to close slightly lower ahead of fourth-quarter GDP data. A Reuters poll of 12 economists predicts the gross domestic product for the December quarter to have expanded by 6.2% from a year earlier, marginally up from July-September's 6.1%, a three-year low. Financial and consumer discretionary stocks were among the top losers with Jollibee Foods Corp declining 2.5% and Bank of the Philippine Islands shedding 2.1%.
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