1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,641.34 points, increased 4.45 points or 0.27% with a trading value of 80 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market had a push from the Thai central bank signalling for a rate hike. However, retail stocks pressured the market after the Consumer Confidence Index in May edged lower for its fifth-straight month.
The analyst expected SET Index tomorrow to move in sideways trends while waiting to see the resolution of the ECB meeting and U.S. inflation, giving a support level at 1,635 points and a resistance level at 1,645 points.
2) Explosion at US’s Freeport LNG plant could put pressure on global supplies
Global consumption would see another rising energy crisis as Freeport LNG, one of the largest U.S. LNG export plants producing 20% of the U.S. LNG processing, will shut for at least three weeks after its Texas Gulf Coast facility exploded on Wednesday.
3) Shanghai will lockdown on Saturday for mass Covid test
Shanghai will lock down a district in the south-west area on Saturday morning to conduct a mass Covid-19 test, raising fears that the city could go back to another lockdown and hurt its economy.
The move by Shanghai authorities on upcoming Saturday raises fears among 2.65 million people in the Minhang district that the residence could be locked down for another two weeks if any Covid-19 infections are discovered in the area, following Beijing’s zero-Covid policy.
Shanghai SE Composite dropped as much as 11% during the two-month lockdown period last time.
4) Thai consumer confidence fell for the fifth-straight month amid rising commodity prices
Thailand’s consumer confidence was 40.2 in May, down from 40.7 in April, pushing it to a 9-month low, after the Energy Ministry raised the diesel price cap from THB30.00 per liter to THB32.00 since May 1 and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board lowered economic growth projections for 2022 from 3.5-4.5 percent to 2.5-3.5 percent in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has forced commodity prices higher.
