Recap: The MSCI World Index held its own yesterday despite some modest declines in Asia, while European equities opened higher. Equity investors were encouraged by statements from the Federal Reserve that allayed concerns about inflation.

The SET index traded in a range of 1,544.71 and 1,580.43 points this week before closing yesterday at 1,574.37, up 1.44% from a week ago, with a average daily turnover of 77.39 billion baht.

Institutional investors were net buyers of 1.91 billion baht and brokerage houses bought 528.45 million shares. Foreign investors were net sellers of $ 2.4 billion and retail investors offloaded 33.85 million baht of shares.

Current actors: The United States saw its biggest rise in inflation in more than a decade last month, rising 5.4% year-on-year, hitting consumers and questioning the White House and the Federal Reserve that the surge in prices will fade in the coming months.

• U.S. Treasury yields fell as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in his testimony to Congress that the rise in inflation will not last and that the Fed will continue to provide “strong support” for it. complete the economic recovery.
• China’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter to 7.9% from a very weak base a year earlier, as consumers remained hesitant to splurge and exports reeling from the disruptions.
• Electricity generation from fossil fuels has peaked around the world as emerging markets switch to cheaper renewable technology as part of a global transition to cleaner energy, think tank analysis shows Carbon Tracker.
• Top Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night agreed to a $ 3.5 trillion package to implement President Joe Biden’s sweeping plans to fund climate initiatives, health insurance, and human infrastructure programs such as child care, social protection and housing.
• Goldman Sachs profits surged amid a merger boom, while JPMorgan Chase profits were boosted by the impact of the recovery in the US economy on loan quality, according to results released Tuesday.
• Oil prices retreated on signs that the Opec + alliance may be ready to restart supplies soon, as the UAE and Saudi Arabia seek to end a deadlock over higher production quotas for the first ones.
• General Motors plans to expand its offices in Southern California with the opening of a new tech campus next year, reinforcing its need for additional physical space as many companies move more permanently from work to distance.
• Boeing Co has discovered an additional manufacturing problem with its 787 Dreamliner, according to a person familiar with the matter, as it works with U.S. regulators to restart deliveries of the besieged plane.
• Indonesian car sales rose 476% year-on-year to 72,720 units in June, the country’s largest auto distributor, Astra International, said on Wednesday.
• Chinese online titans Alibaba and Tencent are looking to open up their platforms, the the Wall Street newspaper reported. The move could appease Beijing’s increasingly aggressive regulators, but should not please shareholders, analysts say.
• Hong Kong customs officials said they dismantled a money laundering syndicate that used cryptocurrency to process $ 155 million in illegal funds, in what they said was the first successful operation of its kind.
• Trading volumes on crypto exchanges fell 40% in June, according to CryptoCompare, with depressing activity of the crackdown in China. Binance, under the control of many regulators, remained the market leader, but volume fell 56% to $ 668 billion.
• The World Bank has downgraded its forecast for Thai economic growth this year to 2.2%, from 3.4% forecast earlier, as the third wave of Covid hits the economy and tourism remains weak.
• The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) expects the 14-day government lockdown in 10 provinces to cost the economy 50-60 billion baht amid concerns of further damage if authorities fail to curb the ongoing Covid epidemic.
• The cabinet approved 42 billion baht in financial assistance to people and businesses affected by Covid lockdown measures in Greater Bangkok and the Far South.
• Bank of Thailand authorizes two-month debt holiday for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are directly impacted by the latest Covid restrictions.
• The worsening Covid situation in Thailand led the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to reconsider the country’s reopening strategy, which had called for more areas to accommodate foreign travelers by October.
• The “Samui Plus” tourism program kicked off Thursday with a grand total of nine European journalists arriving as TAT ​​guests. Authorities say they are in no rush and expect to welcome 1,000 foreign tourists vaccinated in the first month.
• Headline inflation is expected to fall and hover around the lower end of its target range of 1-3% by the end of the year, the central bank said this week.
• The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is watching the baht closely after it fell to its lowest level in 14 months at 32.29 per US dollar, although this is benefiting Thai exporters.
• Thailand aims to reach agreements to form deeper trading partnerships through “mini-FTAs” with Hainan, China and Telangana, India by August.
• A draft royal decree intended to regulate digital platforms has drawn criticism from legal and tech experts who say some of its stringent requirements are unworkable. One proposal states that foreign platforms serving Thailand must have representatives in the country to take responsibility for their services.
• Government savings bonds worth a total of 50 billion baht have already been sold after their launch earlier this month, said Patricia Mongkhonvanit, head of the Office of Public Debt Management (PDMO).
• Global Power Synergy Plc (GPSC), the power generation arm of PTT Group, paid 14.82 billion baht to acquire a 41.6% stake in Avaada Energy Private Co (Avaada), a major renewable energy companies in India.
• GPSC is also spending $ 500 million to acquire a 25% stake in the Changfang and Xidao offshore wind farm projects (CFXD) in Taiwan.
• Total Access Communication (DTAC), the country’s third largest mobile operator, has partnered with social banking platform Line BK and Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG) to provide personal loans to its users.

To come up : The United States will release June building permit figures on Tuesday, Japan will release June inflation data, and Germany will release June producer prices.

• Thailand and Japan will release June trade data on Wednesday, Canada will release new home prices in June. The European Central Bank will announce its policy decision on Thursday and the United States will publish existing home sales in June.
• Germany and the eurozone will release July’s manufacturing PMI on Friday, and the United States and Canada will release retail sales figures for May.

Actions to watch out for: DBS Vickers Securities recommends stocks that will benefit from the legalization of Kratom in food and drink, expected on August 24, such as OSP, CBG, RBF and ICHI. The broker also recommends actions that will benefit from increased promotion of electric vehicles, including EA, GPSC, SAT, BCPG and ROJNA, and rental businesses that are expected to continue to grow despite increased competition amid the economic downturn, including MTC, SAWAD and TIDLOR.

UOB Kay Hian Securities recommends low risk stocks, including those with good dividend yields, and real estate investment trusts. Its choices are ADVANC, AIMIRT, WHART, FTREIT, EASTW, WHAUP and TTW. The weakness of the baht is positive for food and agriculture stocks such as TVO, TU and CPF. The broker also suggests speculative trades on shippers such as PSL, TTA and RCL.

Technical view: DBS Vickers Securities sees support at 1,530 points and resistance at 1,600. Capital Nomura Securities sees support at 1,521 and resistance at 1,604.