Negative if it falls below 1,390 |
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Market today | Sentiment will be negative after the Fed chairman indicated he felt it was necessary to keep rate higher. The market is also waiting for the prime minister’s statement regarding the digital wallet today at 2 p.m. For the index, watch for a lower bound at 1,390 and an upper bound at 1,410; if it can break through that, the next resistance will be at 1,420. | Today’s highlights | • The Fed Chairman, in a seminar organized by the IMF, said the Fed is not yet certain whether interest rates are high enough to control inflation, leading the US 10-year bond yield to rise by 13 bps. • US initial jobless claims last week fell to 217,000, below the expected 218,000. • China CPI in Oct was at -0.2%YoY, below the expected -0.1%YoY, while PPI in Oct was -2.6%YoY, decreasing for the 13th month, indicating China is still in a state of deflation and domestic demand remains sluggish. • Today at 14:00, the Prime Minister will clarify the digital wallet project. Yesterday the government announced a 60-day performance review focusing on solving immediate economic problems, supporting tourism, a moratorium on farmer debt, and building investor confidence. • The BOI reported 31% growth in investment promotion requests in 9M23 for an amount exceeding Bt500bn. The board also approved measures to upgrade the automotive industry, including a three-year tax exemption to support the transition to new technologies. • UTCC reported that the Consumer Confidence Index in Oct stood at 60.2, improving from 58.7 in Sep, the third month of increase and the highest in 44 months, since Mar 2019. • Toyota met with the Prime Minister to discuss investments in Thailand, pushing to make it a regional hub and transition towards EV production, requesting long-term support measures. • The SEC and SET confirmed that short selling does not cause severe stock price drops and that prohibiting short-selling would interfere with the market mechanism. They also said the High-Frequency Trading (HFT) programs from foreign countries are not the cause of market issues. | Strategy today | Although the SET is likely to continue recover as there is hope the Fed will stop its upward rate cycle, upside is still limited as there is no new catalyst to stimulate investment and at the same time there are risks from the tension in the Middle East and, at home, the release of 3Q23 earnings. Our strategy is selective buy. | Trading today | Weekly portfolio: Although the SET may recover, upside is still limited as there is no new catalyst, the situation in the Middle East needs to be monitored, and 3Q23 earnings are being released. We recommend “selective buy” in themes with specific drivers: 1) Big-cap stocks expected to recover in line with the market; we pick undervalued stocks whose prices have entered oversold territory and valuations are not stretched (PER and PBV 2023F are below 5-year average.) – BDMS, CPALL, CPN and MINT. 2) Stocks whose profit is expected to be good through 4Q23 (+YoY and +QoQ) – AP, AOT, BCH, CENTEL and KCE, which has already passed bottom (+QoQ). 3) Speculative stocks expected to benefit from oil price if it rises or stays at the current high level if tension in the Middle East does not escalate (oil price upside between US$5-10/bbl). Recommend trading when Brent is between US$84-94/bbl – BCP and PTTEP. In the medium term we recommend being cautious on stocks that are expected to be affected by El Nino, which will erode purchasing power in the agricultural sector: Finance (MTC, SAWAD), Automotive (SAT, STANLY), Food & Agriculture (CPF GFPT and GFPT) and Beverages (CBG has high sugar cost). | Daily top picks | KTB: 4Q23 profit is expected to be stable QoQ but rise YoY from higher NIM, while 3Q23 profit was as expected. 2023 profit is expected to grow 21%, followed by 5% growth in 2024, supported by gradual growth in NIM. BEM: Profit is expected to grow `strongly. 3Q23 profit is expected to be Bt956mn, up 6.2%QoQ and 10.8%YoY, supported by increased traffic volume on expressways and passenger numbers on the MRT. 2023 profit is expected to grow an outstanding 60.6%. | Today’s reports | BCH – 3Q23: Beat estimates on good EBITDA margin BH – 3Q23: Record high, as expected GFPT – 3Q23: Slightly below estimates GULF – 3Q23: Strong core profit growth continues MINT – 3Q23: Misses estimates on extra items OSP – 3Q23: Above forecast from other income SAT – 3Q23: Beat estimates on lower SG&A SPRC – 3Q23: Profit turned around on strong GRM THANI – 3Q23: Big miss on a sharp rise in ECL TRUE – 3Q23: Below expectations |
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