Lingering bank worries keep lid on Asian shares

RECAP: Asian shares came under pressure yesterday after lingering banking stability concerns gripped Wall Street, while bond markets bet that recent rate hikes by central banks will be among the last of the cycle, allowing for policy relief later in the year.

The SET Index traded sideways up, testing 1,600 points. Thai shares moved in a range of 1,543.47 and 1,599.78 points this week, before closing at 1,591.85 yesterday, up 1.8% from a week earlier, in low daily turnover averaging 49.55 billion baht.

Institutions were top net buyers of 5.71 billion baht, followed by retail investors at 53.46 million baht worth of shares. Foreigners were net sellers of 4.76 billion baht, followed by brokers at 999.41 million baht.

NEWSMAKERS: The US Federal Reserve has signalled it may raise interest rates once more this year before pausing, suggesting it is confident it can tame inflation without deepening a banking crisis. The Fed on Wednesday lifted its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%.

• The Bank of England joined Norway and Switzerland in hiking interest rates on Thursday as inflation remains uncomfortably high. British annual inflation unexpectedly accelerated in February to 10.4%, from 10.1% in January.
• The Philippine central bank on Thursday lifted key rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% as policymakers continue to combat high inflation that remains around 8%.
• After flirting with $29,000 for the first time since June last year, Bitcoin slipped below $27,000 on Thursday as the latest Fed rate hike eased speculation that looser monetary policy would fuel demand for digital assets.
• South Korea will seek the extradition of fugitive crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon, after the Terraform founder was arrested in Montenegro and hit with US fraud charges. His company's collapse last year wiped out $40 billion of investors' money and shook global crypto markets.
• Japan's Mizuho Financial Group plans to invest 17 billion yen (US$128 million) in the Indonesian buy now, pay later business Kredivo as it seeks to capture demand in a country where few people have credit cards.
• VinFast electric vehicles are getting into the ride-hailing business through a new company called Green and Smart Mobility (GSM), which will supply electric motorbikes and cars to Be Group, a rival of Grab and Gojek.
• Asian investors are exploring potential legal challenges to a Swiss decision wiping out $17.5 billion in Credit Suisse bonds following UBS's takeover of its troubled rival. The deal erased the value of Credit Suisse's alternative tier 1 bonds, which were created after the 2008 financial crisis to enhance bank capital buffers.
• The Philippines is looking to fetch around 80 billion pesos ($1.5 billion) from the sale of dozens of small, state-owned casinos. The privatisation would allow the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) to focus on being a regulator, chairman Alejandro Tengco said.
• The Indonesian superapp provider GoTo said its 2022 net loss widened by 56% to 40.4 trillion rupiah ($2.6 billion) as the company continues struggling to turn a profit. However, revenue rose to 11.3 trillion rupiah, from 5.2 trillion a year ago.
• Japan's core consumer inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil products, rose 3.1% in February from a year earlier, slowing sharply from a 41-year high of 4.2% in January.
• The board of Toshiba has approved a 2-trillion-yen ($15.3 billion) buyout led by Japan Industrial Partners. The tender offer of 4,620 yen per share requires investors to tender at least two-thirds of outstanding shares to succeed.
• Japan's top utility JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co and Chubu Electric Power Co, has agreed to buy Parkwind, Belgium's largest offshore wind platform, for 1.55 billion euros ($1.7 billion).
• Japan's Panasonic Holdings will sell its entire stake in Panasonic Appliances Cold Chain, the largest manufacturer of commercial refrigerators and freezers in China to local partner Dalian Bingshan Group for 100 million yuan ($14.5 million).
• China Evergrande Group on Wednesday announced plans for the restructuring of its $22.7 billion in offshore debt. It has given creditors a variety of options to swap debt into new bonds and equity-linked instruments backed by the group and its two Hong Kong-listed companies.
• Russia has decided to keep its oil production at a reduced level through June, after cutting output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to western sanctions.
• The 3.35-trillion-baht budget for the 2024 fiscal year starting in October could be delayed by four or five months, the Budget Bureau said on Thursday, as a new government may take until August to be formed after the May 14 election.
• U-tapao airport expects a delay in the first phase of its expansion plans as some conditions have not been approved by authorities, with carrying capacity reduced to less than 12 million passengers in the initial stages.
• Condominium transfers to foreigners in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached a five-year high of 3,780 units, up 82% from a year earlier, for a value of 19.5 billion baht, up 96%.
• Thailand recorded 5.57 million foreign tourist arrivals from January to March 18 this year, the vital and rapidly recovering tourism sector continues to support the economy as exports are weakening amid slowing global demand.
• Exports are forecast for a deeper contraction of 1.2% this year, attributed to the global economic slowdown and the banking debacle in the US and Europe, according to Kasikorn Research Center.
• Bangkok Airways expects its passenger numbers to reach 70-80% of the pre-pandemic level this year, or roughly 4.4 million people from more than 40,000 flights, and that it will possibly post an annual profit for the first time since 2019.
• Airline veteran Patee Sarasin is setting up Really Cool Airlines, a new long-haul carrier expected to obtain its licence in September to allow an inaugural flight in December.
• SET-listed Electricity Generating Plc plans to spend 30 billion baht to expand capacity by 1 gigawatt. Additional capacity of 250 megawatts is projected from various new projects, including wind farms in Taiwan and the US.
• Energy authorities expect to launch a new national power development plan (PDP) to better promote and support renewable energy, running from 2023-37, replacing the current one that took effect in 2018.
• Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services expects its jet fuel sales to increase by 40% to 4.2 billion litres this year, as international travel revives. The company aims to return to profit in the current quarter.
• Thaicom is exploring businesses related to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, as it continues work on space tech innovation with partners. The company plans to launch three geo-satellites, with two small satellites slated for late 2024 and a larger one in early 2027.
• The mall operator Central Pattana Plc (CPN) is joining forces with WeChat Pay to create a seamless shopping experience for Chinese tourists, almost all of whom use the app.

COMING UP: On Monday, the US will release a production index update, followed on Tuesday by January housing prices and March consumer confidence. On Wednesday, the US will report pending home sales in February and a weekly oil inventory update.

• On the local front, the Fiscal Policy Office will report local economic conditions and the global economic confidence index. On Wednesday, the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee will announce its interest rate decision, expected to involve another quarter-percentage-point increase. On March 31 the BoT will release updated economic data.

STOCKS TO WATCH: Asia Plus Securities (ASPS) says foreigners have started to delay selling Thai stocks, becoming net buyers again on Thursday with a value of 1 billion baht. According to ASPS research, between March 1 and 22, the top 20 stocks that foreigners bought were HANA, SAWAD, CK, STEC, MINT, LH, CBG, PTTGC, CENTEL, BANPU, CRC, TASCO, OSP, BJC, ICHI, BGRIM, BDMS, ADVANC and MATA.

• ASPS recommends selective buys of stocks whose prices continue to lag those of peers or their sectors and are expected to improve soon. Its picks are HANA, KCE, SAWAD, CK, STEC, MINT, LH and CBG.
• InnovestX Securities said with the SET below 1,600, the company recommends stocks with strong fundamentals such as PTTEP, HMPRO, CPALL, SCGP and GULF. Some stocks will face earnings adjustments such as AEONTS, BEM, SAWAD, TCAP, TIDLOR, TLI, TTB, MST, MTC and TQM.

TECHNICAL VIEW: InnovestX Securities sees support at 1,570 points and resistance at 1,610. Kingsford Securities sees support at 1,580 and resistance at 1,610.