Thai shares moved sideways early this week as investors awaited US inflation figures and related signals about Federal Reserve interest rate policy.
The US Consumer Price Index in January increased 3.1% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations of 2.9%. Core CPI of 3.9% was also above the forecast of 3.7%. Consequently, yields on US Treasuries spiked on expectations that any rate cut will be postponed to May at the earliest, and more likely to June or beyond.
Global stocks tumbled at the open on Wednesday, dragging the SET lower, while Chinese markets remained closed for Lunar New Year holidays. However, shares subsequently bounced back while the Thai market stayed rangebound.
Barring fresh factors (beyond US…
