Rough week for equities as central banks talk tough

RECAP: Asian stocks slumped in line with global equity markets, which have seen their worst week this year, as a string of hawkish central bank surprises made investors nervous about the economic cost of taming inflation.

Thai shares declined on a lack of new drivers while China’s sluggish recovery pressured sentiment. The SET Index moved in a range of 1,495.82 and 1,562.36 points this week before closing yesterday at 1,505.52, down 3.6% from the previous week, in daily turnover averaging 37.88 billion baht.

Retail investors were net buyers of 6.42 billion baht, followed by brokers at 1.84 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers of 4.32 billion baht, followed by institutions at 3.94 billion.

NEWSMAKERS: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that returning inflation to 2% is crucial to support the long-term health of the US economy. Consequently, two…