(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 45 points or 3.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,410-point plateau and it's expected to open to the downside again on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and the r...
(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 45 points or 3.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,410-point plateau and it's expected to open to the downside again on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on continuing concerns over the war in the Middle East and the resulting surge in oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow to the downside. The SET finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the food, consumer, finance, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors. For the day, the index tumbled 20.45 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 1,409.35 after trading between 1,404.45 and 1,420.26. Volume was 11.472 billion shares worth 60.444 billion baht. There were 354 decliners and 142 gainers, with 153 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info slumped 1.36 percent, while Thailand Airport lost 2.97 percent, Asset World surrendered 1.92 percent, Banpu rallied 1.67 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.59 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical added 0.53 percent, Bangkok Expressway plummeted 3.67 percent, B. Grimm plunged 3.39 percent, BTS Group was down 1.90 percent, CP All Public sank 1.59 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 1.05 percent, Energy Absolute cratered 2.22 percent, Krung Thai Bank tumbled 2.14 percent, Krung Thai Card retreated 1.68 percent, PTT Oil & Retail weakened 1.77 percent, PTT crashed 2.14 percent, PTT Exploration and Production climbed 1.38 percent, SCG Packaging tanked 2.79 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.35 percent, Siam Concrete stumbled 2.49 percent, Thai Oil dropped 2.53 percent, True Corporation contracted 1.48 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.80 percent and Kasikornbank, PTT Global Chemical and Gulf were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but turned lower as the da...
As trade tensions and new US tariff investigations rattle global supply chains, Southeast Asian economies are looking to broaden their options, but analysts say the region’s deep links with the US and China mean any shift will be gradual rather than a clean break. The disruption could actually work in Asean’s favour, accelerating supply-chain diversification and shifting more manufacturing to the ...
As trade tensions and new US tariff investigations rattle global supply chains, Southeast Asian economies are looking to broaden their options, but analysts say the region’s deep links with the US and China mean any shift will be gradual rather than a clean break. The disruption could actually work in Asean’s favour, accelerating supply-chain diversification and shifting more manufacturing to the region from markets such as Europe, India and the Middle East, they say. Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said this week the bloc would keep markets open and deepen regional cooperation as geopolitical tensions, protectionist policies and global conflicts affect trade. Advertisement “We will continue to work closely with industry stakeholders and external and development partners to strengthen and sustain business and investors’ confidence in Asean, while further reinforcing regional supply chains through the implementation of relevant and binding Asean agreements,” they said in a statement from the Asean Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Manila on Friday. Philippine trade secretary Cristina Roque speaks during the Asean retreat on Friday. Photo: Reuters The bloc was pushing for the timely ratification and implementation of an upgraded Asean trade agreement that would allow greater concessions for goods traded among member states, as well as the signing of a framework that would “support deeper digital integration, trusted cross-border data flows, and greater participation in the regional digital economy”, they said.
China’s economy got off to a strong start in 2026, as industrial output and retail sales stayed resilient in the first two months while fixed-asset investment registered a small expansion. China’s industrial output rose 6.3 per cent in January and February compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The reading beat market exp...
China’s economy got off to a strong start in 2026, as industrial output and retail sales stayed resilient in the first two months while fixed-asset investment registered a small expansion. China’s industrial output rose 6.3 per cent in January and February compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The reading beat market expectations for a 5.23 per cent uptick based on a poll of economists conducted by financial data provider Wind. Advertisement Retail sales grew by 2.8 per cent year on year in the first two months – up from a 0.9 per cent increase in December – thanks to a surge in spending during the extended Chinese New Year break. Wind had predicted a 2.37 per cent rise. Results for the first two months are often combined in China to minimise distortions from the long public holiday, which fell in February this year but took place in January last year. Advertisement The strong spending data presents a tailwind for Beijing’s drive to stimulate consumption, with officials pledging to make domestic demand a “strategic anchor” for the economy this year during the just-concluded “two sessions” – the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and political advisory body.
China’s main economic indicators fared better than forecast to start the year, in a sign that momentum was improving before the war in Iran roiled the outlook for global growth and inflation. Industrial production climbed 6.3% in the January-February period from a year ago — its fastest growth since September and up from 5.2% in December. Fixed-asset investment unexpectedly expanded 1.8%, accordin...
China’s main economic indicators fared better than forecast to start the year, in a sign that momentum was improving before the war in Iran roiled the outlook for global growth and inflation. Industrial production climbed 6.3% in the January-February period from a year ago — its fastest growth since September and up from 5.2% in December. Fixed-asset investment unexpectedly expanded 1.8%, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, after contracting for the first time on record in 2025. Retail sales rose 2.8% in the first two months, accelerating from 0.9% in December and topping the 2.5% median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “In January and February, the main economic indicators showed a marked rebound, and the economy was off to a good start,” the NBS said in a statement accompanying the data release. “But we also need to see that the impact is deepening from changes in the external environment, and geopolitical risks keep rising.” The figures provide the first official snapshot of the state of the world’s second-biggest economy this year. China usually publishes combined data for January and February to smooth out distortions caused by the irregular timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. China’s economy unexpectedly entered the year on a strong footing after ending 2025 with the slowest growth since the reopening from Covid lockdowns in late 2022. As domestic consumption and investment cooled, gross domestic product growth decelerated in the fourth quarter to 4.5% from a year earlier. But in the past two weeks, the widening conflict in the Middle East has upended energy markets and caused a new disruption to trade. While China is less vulnerable to an oil price shock than other major economies in Asia, its export machine is exposed to the threats to global growth and inflation. China’s property investment plunged 11.1% in the first two months from a year ago, a narrower decline than the 19.3% drop predicted by economis...
Since the end of the 2022 bear market up through 2025, growth stocks had a nearly uninterrupted run of outperformance relative to the S&P 500. On the heels of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, growth has been one of the market's winningest themes. That has changed in 2026. The Vanguard Growth ETF, one of the most successful exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over ...
Since the end of the 2022 bear market up through 2025, growth stocks had a nearly uninterrupted run of outperformance relative to the S&P 500. On the heels of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, growth has been one of the market's winningest themes. That has changed in 2026. The Vanguard Growth ETF, one of the most successful exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the past three years, is down 7% year to date (at the time of this writing). That lags the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF's 3% loss, but it significantly lags the near-1% gain of the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF. The list of factors suggesting that growth's run might be over is growing. Labor market growth has nearly ground to a standstill. Inflation is still hovering close to 3% and may prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting rates further for the foreseeable future. Rising debt levels and consumer affordability issues are still threatening to derail economic growth forecasts. It may be time to seek out safer paths for equity market returns. The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF makes sense in today's market When the markets grow uncertain and volatility starts to tick higher, it makes sense to focus on financially sound companies. These are the ones backed by healthy cash flows, strong balance sheets, and lower debt levels. These companies tend to be more durable and able to withstand economic slowdowns. Few ETFs focus on quality better than the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD 0.13%). Not only does it consider factors such as cash-flow-to-debt ratio and return on equity, but it also requires companies to have paid dividends for at least 10 years while considering dividend yield and dividend growth rate. It's a strategy that I really like because it uses these screens to act as a cross-check against each other. The strategy looks at historical dividend growth rates, but makes sure the company has the cash to keep growing the dividend in the future as well. The strategy look...