STOCKS MAKE SMALL GAINS AMID TRADE TALK HOPE

RECAP: Asian stocks notched small gains in thin trade yesterday as investors largely adopted a wait-and-see approach on tariff negotiations before making long-term bets. Some markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.

- NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE NAREEARAT WIRIYAPONG

The SET index moved in a range of 1,120.72 and 1,153.20 this week, closing yesterday at 1,150.95, up 2% from the previous week, with daily turnover averaging 31.59 billion baht for three trading days.

Institutional investors were net buyers of 1.24 billion baht, followed by foreign investors at 432.25 million brokerage. Brokerage firms were net sellers of 1.03 billion baht, followed by retail investors at 637.37 million.

NEWSMAKERS: US President Donald Trump claimed he would seek federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, threatening central bank independence, as he vented his frustration that the Fed was not cutting interest rates enough to help the economy.

Mr Powell on Wednesday warned that the Fed could face a "challenging scenario" of managing both accelerating inflation and a slowing economy brought on by the impact of Trump's tariffs.

After hinting at "big progress" in Japan-US trade talks, Trump said he was "very confident". A deal with the EU, without giving details. But questions surround the status of talks with China after Beijing indicated it had several conditions.

While Trump has announced exemptions for Chinese imports of smartphones, computers and semiconductors, he said they would still be subject to the 20% "fentanyl tariff" applied on all Chinese goods.

The European Central Bank left its key interest rate at quarter point to 2.25% on Thursday, the seventh cut since June, as the economic outlook has darkened amid heightened trade uncertainty, while inflation has slowed.

Fitch Ratings says it expects global economic growth this year to be the weakest since the 2009 global financial crisis, excluding the Covid pandemic. It projects growth to fall below 2%, down by 0.4 percentage points from its March estimate.