RECAP: Asian shares pulled back yesterday after a stellar quarter, as hefty price hikes by Apple revealed the downside of booming chip demand and depressed tech shares, while the threat of Japanese intervention kept the yen from hitting 40-year lows.The Thai index consolidated as sentiment was capped by rising uncertainties in the Strait of Hormuz and concerns over a potentially more hawkish Fed as US economic data remain strong.
The SET index moved in a range of 1,536.37 and 1,580.86 points this week, before closing yesterday at 1,542.34, down 1.9% from the previous week, with daily turnover averaging 73.9 billion baht.
Retail investors were net buyers of 10.99 billion baht, followed by institutional investors at 1.65 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers of 11.52 billion baht, followed by brokerage firms at 1.09 billion.
NEWSMAKERS: An Evergreen Marine cargo ship was hit by an unknown object off Oman but then safely departed the Strait of Hormuz, the Taiwanese company said on Friday. But the incident forced the pause of an operation to evacuate thousands of seafarers on vessels that have been stranded in the Persian Gulf.
Oil tanker operators have nearly doubled the hire cost of vessels going through the Strait of Hormuz on rising demand as traffic through the waterway slowly picks up, according to ship brokers.
