Recap: US markets continued their record run this week, with the Dow crossing 23,000, as unemployment claims fell to a 44-year low. But investors are keeping a close watch on the selection of a new Federal Reserve chief. European markets fell amid turmoil in Spain where the central government is seeking to retake control over independence-minded Catalonia.
On the domestic front, Thailand's exports in September grew 12.2% year-on-year to a record-high US$21.8 billion, and were up 9% in the first three quarters. But local stocks sank after the previous week's rally, with heavy profit-taking pushing the SET index back below 1,700 points.
The benchmark index moved between 1,673.01 and 1,728.62 points before closing at 1,692.58, down 1.2% from the previous week, in heavy turnover averaging 67.51 billion baht a day.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 7.2 billion baht, while brokerages sold 1.25 billion and institutional investors sold 5.26 billion. Retail investors were net buyers of 13.7 billion baht.
Newsmakers: China's economy grew by 6.8% in the July-to-September quarter, according to official data released Thursday, slowing slightly from 6.9% registered in the previous period. The latest GDP figures are still above Beijing's annual growth target of 6.5% for 2017.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will visit Delhi this coming week, says Washington wants to deepen cooperation with India in the face of growing Chinese influence in Asia. He described India as a "partner" in a "strategic relationship", adding that the US would "never have the same relationship with China, a non-democratic society".
US President Donald Trump is reported to be leaning towards Jerome Powell, a Federal Reserve governor, to succeed Janet Yellen when her term as Fed chief ends in February. Mr Powell is seen as a safe choice with views similar to those of Ms Yellen.
British financial regulators and the Serious Fraud Office are investigating whether HSBC and Standard Chartered could be linked to a South African corruption scandal. Lord Peter Hain, a Labour peer and former anti-apartheid campaigner, has said the banks may "inadvertently have been conduits" for laundered money.
Indonesia's central bank has approved transaction settlement for bilateral trade between Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to be conducted in local currencies. Effective from Jan 2, Indonesian exporters or importers will be able to settle payments with their Malaysian or Thai counterparts using rupiah, ringgit or baht.
Thai shares on Thursday recorded their biggest single-day fall since mid-November of last year as investors took profits following the recent strong rally. The SET index dropped as much as 1.6% despite data showing a healthy trade surplus in September.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Special Investigation against former Group Lease Plc (GL) chief executive Mitsuji Konoshita, alleging fraud, misappropriation of company assets and falsification of accounting through concealed transactions involving associated overseas companies. The SET yesterday suspended GL shares for the second time in a week, demanding that it "urgently amend" its financial statements. The shares closed on Thursday at 9.15 baht, down 59% from the end of the previous week.
Bank of Ayudhya Plc, the country's fifth-largest lender, reported record-high quarterly profits, driven by improvements in net interest and fee income. For the three months to Sept 30, the Japanese majority-owned lender posted a net profit of 6.01 billion baht, up 3.2% from 5.83 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group announced the temporary shutdown of its 7-Eleven, CP Fresh Mart and True shops throughout the country on Oct 26, the day of the royal cremation ceremony, so that customers and staff can pay their last respects to the late King Bhumibol.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha brushed aside digital TV operators' renewed request for more state assistance to ease broadcasters' financial burden and business difficulties. However, the broadcasting regulator later offered a revised licence fee structure with lower rates.
The Bank of Thailand will maintain its inflation target band of 1-4% for next year on expectations that inflation will return to the lower range of the band by mid-2018, says governor Veerathai Santiprabhob. The central bank recently forecast that headline inflation would be 0.6% this year and 1.2% in 2018.
Coming up: China will release September home prices and Singapore will release September inflation data on Monday. The US will release the closely watched S&P/Case Schiller home price index the same day, and the euro zone will release its preliminary consumer confidence index for October.
The US, EU, France and Germany will release updated purchasing managers' index data on Tuesday. The South Korean consumer confidence index and US durable goods orders are due Wednesday.
Stocks to watch: DBS Vickers Securities recommends buying high-growth stocks including ASAP, RS, SAT, AUCT and LST. It also recommends investors maintain their holdings in SENA, PTTGC, TMB, M, SGP, CBG and STAR. Recommended banking stocks are BBL, KBANK, TMB, TISCO, TCAP and KKP.
Bualuang Securities expects stocks in the retail sector will benefit from sales revenue increases in September, with recommended stocks identified as BEAUTY, BJC and HMPRO.
Technical view: Bualuang Securities and Maybank Kim Eng Securities Thailand both see support at 1,660 points and resistance at 1,700 this week.
