Just keeping an eye on four major news stories today that are very interesting, both in the global finance and Thai stock markets. Let's see what has happened.

The first thing to mention is the major change happening at the Fed as Kevin Warsh is about to replace Jerome Powell. The market is talking about this like a storm. Investors are speculating that Warsh's new era will come with tighter monetary policies, especially protecting the dollar's strength. The clear result is the dollar index soaring immediately, reflecting market expectations that this era will have more aggressive inflation control. Powell must send a final warning about the Federal Reserve's independence, which could face political pressure in the coming years.

Another exciting story is the gold market, which recently experienced a sudden plunge from history. Gold prices dropped to touch $4,400 per ounce amid panic selling related to the new interest rate policy. But what's interesting is the very quick recovery after hitting that level. It seems that $4,400 remains a confidence zone for long-term investors. Meanwhile, Bitcoin remains strong above $78,780. This shows a clear asset decoupling: gold as a hedge against government policies, while crypto becomes a safe haven during liquidity crunches.

The third story is the real economy sector of the U.S., which continues to show strength. The January ISM Manufacturing PMI came out at 52.6%, breaking the expansion threshold for the first time in two years. The most notable part is the new orders index, which jumped 9.7 points. This is the strongest monthly expansion since the pandemic crisis. It sounds like good news, but it’s a double-edged sword because it could reignite inflation. This means the Fed, under new leadership, might have to keep interest rates high longer than many expect.

Finally, a positive news from Thailand has started to attract foreign investors back to the Thai stock market. At the World Economic Forum, Thailand managed to attract over 500 billion baht in foreign investment, driven by TikTok’s Content Hub project and digital infrastructure from AWS. The hottest news in the Thai stock market is AOT, which received approval to increase the departure passenger service charge (PSC) for international flights from 730 baht to 1,120 baht. This more than 50% increase is a game-changer. It will shift AOT’s profit structure to a new level in the next fiscal year and serve as a key driver for confidence in the Thai stock market amid global currency volatility. Such news is very good for those closely following the Thai market.