FILE PHOTO: An investor walks past an electronic board displaying live market data at a stock broker's office in central BangkokSINGAPORE/BENGALURU - A shooting tragedy in a Bangkok mall adds to a double-whammy of rising rates and government spending worries that has hammered Thai assets and soured bets on the recovery of Asia's tourism giant.
Ten-year Thai government bond yields are now up 75 basis points in little more than three weeks, according to LSEG data, a move even larger than that in U.S. Treasuries. Thailand vowed to restore confidence in tourism in the wake of the shooting, in which two foreigners died, though stocks such as Central Plaza Hotel and Airports of Thailand were sold, sending the latter to a seven-month low.In ordinary circumstances lifting rates might have been expected to rally the currency, but as already higher U.S. rates have climbed further - amid a rout in global bonds - the baht has lost more than 2% on the dollar in a week."This ...
"In this backdrop there needs to be much greater monetary and fiscal coordination," said Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro and investment strategy at BNY Mellon Investment Management. "The market senses this policy disconnect, and the sell off in the baht seems to be the casualty."But even medium-term baht bulls, such as Siddharth Mathur, head of macro strategy and Asia-Pacific emerging markets' research at BNP Paribas in Singapore, see risks ahead.
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