Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,357.97 points, decreased 15.95 points or 1.16% with a trading value of 37.9 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market underperformed regional peers as the index made a record low in three years as the Thai market lacks positive drivers. Meanwhile, the selloff was to lower the risk prior to the Fed’s meeting.
The Thai government set to deploy a 3-Year free visa scheme for Japan, starting from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026.
At the end of September, Thailand launched a free visa scheme for Chinese and Kazakh travelers, expecting the scheme to drive revenue of the tourism industry in the final quarter of 2023.
However, the actual outcome, as in earlier December, did not seem to meet the expectations as the number of Chinese tourists from 1 January to 30 November only emerged for around 3 million compared to an earlier expectation of 4 to 4.4 million travelers.
The economy of the United Kingdom shrank in October, sparking concerns of a recession as the central bank is expecting to maintain monetary policy at 15-year high amid high inflation.
Gross domestic product (GDP) in Britain fell by 0.3% from September, according to an official data from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, which was worse than the flat growth expected by Reuters poll. This was also the first time since July this year that GDP had shrunk on a monthly basis.
The Bank of England is widely expected by the market to hold an interest rate at 5.25% at the upcoming meeting on Thursday. The central bank had been signalling that there was no plan of cutting rates as it tried to bring down the stubbornly high inflation rate from 4.6% in October.
The market is expecting to see a first rate cut by the Bank of England in June 2024.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei announced a shocking statement on Tuesday, saying that the government will halve its currency valuation and cut its spending in an attempt to revive its slumping economy.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a televised message that the Argentine peso will be devalued by 50% to 800 pesos against the U.S. dollar from the current level of 400 pesos.
The government aims to cut spending on public works as well as its subsidies on transport and energy sectors, and more.
President Milei admitted that the country will be worse than before and told his people to brace for tough measures. This came after Argentina’s central bank raised interest rates to a record high of 133% two months ago.
