Industry & Themes

Phillip Securities assesses that the SET Index next week, from 12 to 16 October 2026, is likely to move sideways to sideways up in a range of 1,565 to 1,600 points, supported by the annual IMF-World Bank meeting in Bangkok from 12 to 18 October. UTCC expects around 15,000 to 20,000 attendees, and if average spending runs 30,000 to 50,000 baht per person, it would generate roughly 5 billion to 10 billion baht in short-term circulation in the economy. The research team views this as positive sentiment for tourism and related stocks, as well as the electric train and oil retail groups. And given that the deputy prime minister and finance minister indicated there will be a forum discussing AI infrastructure and data centers, the team is positive on the power plant and utilities group, the communications group, the electronics group, and the industrial estate group. Meanwhile, speculation over third-quarter 2026 earnings, starting with TISCO, whose net profit is expected to grow 5.3% year-on-year and 3.3% quarter-on-quarter, is another supporting factor. Global stock markets are expected to move sideways to sideways up, with attention on US September CPI and PPI figures, which could accelerate on crude oil prices, and the IMF-World Bank meeting on 16 October, where Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will take the stage alongside the IMF's Kristalina Georgieva to discuss the direction of the global economy.

Yossakorn Follett, Chief Executive Officer of XSpring Asset Management, or XSpring AM, sees the personal savings account scheme, TISA, and the idea of reviving an infrastructure fund along the lines of the Thailand Future Fund, or TFFIF, to raise capital as key tools for building a long-term investment base for the Thai capital market. TISA should allow investment across a wide range of assets, not limited to stocks or bonds, similar to the 401(k) system in the United States, even though the format and mechanisms would not be entirely the same. And although the launch of the TISA measure has been pushed back to next year, if it is genuinely driven forward it will help draw more long-term investment money into the Thai capital market. As for the TFFIF concept, it would use state assets that have already been built and generate income, such as roads or expressways, as underlying assets for investment. Meanwhile, XSpring AM has raised its weighting for Thai equities from below normal, or Underweight, back to normal, or Neutral, taking the view that the index around 1,580 to 1,600 points is neither too expensive nor too cheap compared with its historical average, and that an average dividend yield of 3 to 3.5 percent a year still supports investment. For its fourth-quarter 2026 strategy, the company is overweight consumer stocks that benefit from the government's economic stimulus measures, as well as semiconductors and technology. As for banking stocks, although they still stand out for dividends, investment must be selective by individual company, and the impact of flooding, which could affect credit quality in third-quarter 2026 earnings, must be monitored. Pressures to watch include selling from existing long-term equity funds whose holding conditions have matured; if the index rises to around 1,620 to 1,630 points, gradual profit-taking may be seen, along with the reduced weighting of the Thai stock market in the global equity index, because other countries' markets have grown faster in market value, forcing foreign index-tracking funds to cut their holdings of Thai stocks accordingly. XSpring AM estimates the SET index will close 2026 at around 1,600 points, and if there are no severe shocks beyond expectations, there is a chance of seeing the index touch 1,700 points in 2027.

CVS Health is expanding its pharmacy-focused format by opening nearly 20 smaller neighborhood locations across the United States in 2026, including a new Roxbury site in the Boston area. The expansion comes as recent headlines have sent mixed signals for investors, with Medicare Advantage star rating setbacks and a legal probe weighing on sentiment, while an extended Cardinal Health distribution deal and a reaffirmed dividend provide a steadier backdrop. Even after a one-day share price decline of 1.87% and a 30-day share price return down 8.98%, the year-to-date share price return of 7.53% and a one-year total shareholder return of 14.11% indicate that longer term holders have still seen gains as shorter term momentum has faded. On the most followed view, CVS Health screens as undervalued, with a fair value of $124 against a last close of $86.16. The company has raised full-year guidance twice through the first half of 2026, Aetna's medical benefit ratio has improved, cash flow is running well ahead of plan, and all three operating segments are growing, though the story could break if Aetna's medical cost trend runs hotter than expected or if pharmacy benefit reforms compress Health Services earnings faster than planned.

SpaceX has agreed to acquire Grain Management's nationwide portfolio of low-band wireless spectrum licenses, advancing the Elon Musk-led company's effort to compete with Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile Us Inc. The agreement covers spectrum in the 800 MHz band and remains subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission; SpaceX says the licenses will complement Starlink Mobile's existing satellite capabilities with terrestrial connectivity. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 15,000 next-generation Starlink satellites optimized for mobile connectivity, and together the spectrum acquisition and satellite expansion move the company closer to offering a more comprehensive mobile service. Musk made his ambitious prediction in an Oct. 8 post on X, saying he sees a path to SpaceX being worth orders of magnitude more than the current Earth economy. Investors should watch for regulatory approval, launch timelines, pricing announcements and evidence of customer adoption, as the next test is whether SpaceX can persuade consumers to switch networks or pay less to stay connected.

As unauthorized access to companies surges, electronics giants offering cyber defense services are receiving a flood of consultations and inquiries. In September, Hitachi launched a service that uses advanced AI models from U.S. firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI to provide end-to-end support spanning risk assessment, monitoring, and recovery. Fujitsu announced its cyber defense strategy in late August, and inquiries from client companies have poured in since then, increasing further in recent days, prompting it to establish a specialized organization of about 100 people effective October 1. NEC began offering a service in late September for financial institutions, manufacturers, and distributors that uses AI to automatically analyze risks and formulate response policies. Each company is strengthening its systems in anticipation of sophisticated AI-driven cyberattacks, and demand appears set to keep expanding.

Nissan Chemical Corporation has approved the establishment of Nissan Chemical Semiconductor materials Zhangjiagang Co., Ltd. in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, China, to manufacture and sell anti-reflective coatings and multilayer materials for semiconductors. The new subsidiary carries registered capital of RMB 210 million, or approximately ¥5.00 billion, with initial funding set for October 15, 2026. The move deepens Nissan Chemical's presence in China's semiconductor supply chain by placing production closer to key local customers and demand centers. The roughly ¥5.00 billion capacity build is a focused addition that supports existing guidance rather than reshaping it in the near term, though it tilts the risk mix toward China-specific factors such as local competition and policy or supply chain disruptions. The company's investment case continues to rest on turning specialty chemicals expertise into steady earnings and disciplined shareholder returns, supported by high returns on equity and an active dividend and buyback program.

Avolon has announced a firm order for 110 Airbus jets, comprising 75 A320neo family aircraft and 35 A330-900s, with options for a further 100 aircraft pending Bohai Leasing shareholder approval. The commitment from the leading lessor reinforces long-term demand visibility for Airbus's single-aisle and widebody programmes and deepens its presence in the leasing market. The order, once Bohai Leasing approves it, supports the long-term demand story but does not materially change the most immediate swing factors, which remain engine and supply chain reliability on the A320 family and the impact of elevated investment and Spirit AeroSystems integration costs on near-term free cash flow. Alongside the Avolon deal, Airbus Defence and Space has completed the first 32 new OneWeb satellites for Eutelsat, underlining the push to build a more meaningful second profit pillar outside commercial jets. Airbus's narrative projects 107.5 billion euros in revenue and 9.3 billion euros in earnings by 2029, requiring 11.8% yearly revenue growth and about a 3.4 billion euro earnings increase from 5.9 billion euros today, while some of the most optimistic analysts were already pencilling in about 122.6 billion euros of revenue and 10.4 billion euros of earnings by 2029.

Duke Energy declared quarterly cash dividends of US$1.085 per common share and US$359.375 per Series A preferred share, payable on December 16, 2026, to shareholders of record on November 13, 2026. The utility also reached agreements with Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft to broaden financial safeguards for North Carolina data centers, tying directly into its multi gigawatt data center pipeline. If regulators approve the framework, it would sit alongside existing electric service agreements as part of the story investors are watching around large load growth, capital spending and how much external funding Duke must raise to build out the grid and new generation. Duke's narrative projects $38.3 billion in revenue and $6.5 billion in earnings by 2029, requiring 5.3% yearly revenue growth and about a $1.3 billion earnings increase from $5.2 billion today. The company's rising capital needs could still collide with a period of persistently higher borrowing costs.

Scatec has started construction on the 900 MW Shadwan onshore wind project in Egypt alongside EDF, backed by a US$150 million equity bridge loan package. The news lifted Scatec shares 5.53% in a single day to NOK104.0, contributing to a 90 day share price gain of 9.36%, though the year to date share price return remains down 3.61% and the 1 year total shareholder return is slightly negative. The most followed analyst narrative puts Scatec's fair value at NOK129.89, roughly 20% above the last close, while the SWS DCF model estimates a future cash flow value of NOK10.05, framing the stock as very expensive. Scatec remains heavily dependent on government tenders and project execution, so policy setbacks or construction delays could quickly challenge the undervalued narrative.

GE Vernova reports that AI data center related orders exceeded US$5b in the first half of 2026, a figure management says is already more than double the data center order total recorded for all of 2025. The US based electrical group supplies equipment and services to generate, move, coordinate, convert, and store power across the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, positioning it directly in the path of rising data center electricity needs. Industry analysts suggest power equipment suppliers such as GE Vernova may benefit from AI demand regardless of which developers lead the field. The company's broader story extends beyond this single development, and the projects carry exposure to large, lumpy infrastructure contracts and the possibility of delays, deferrals, or weaker pricing if customer budgets tighten. The clearest way to judge whether this read holds is to watch GE Vernova's disclosed data center backlog conversion and margins across 2027, especially how much of these AI related orders translate into on time revenue and service contracts without a visible rise in project cancellations or profit shortfalls.

Consumer artificial intelligence agents could reshape online shopping, payments and financial services, but their success will depend on how established companies respond, according to Bernstein. The rapid growth of Muse, which can compare products and quotes, call businesses, send emails, fill forms, manage inboxes, cancel subscriptions and negotiate for users, has fuelled speculation about an "iPhone moment" for consumer AI, with OpenAI launching Dots and Google expected to improve Spark. Amazon blocked Muse within two weeks of launch, citing lack of prior notification, failure to identify itself, apparent collection of customer credentials and access to account pages and order histories, while others including Shopify, Walmart, Best Buy, Gap, Sephora, Wayfair, Dick's Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty, Fanatics, Expedia and Instacart have partnered with Muse for shopping and checkout. Bernstein expects selective access rather than blanket blocking, and Muse is developing API connectors with retailers, although it currently mainly browses websites, fills forms and prepares orders for user confirmation. Cloudflare says AI-agent requests on its network rose over 1,700% in a year, while human traffic in heavily crawled retail and financial-services categories fell as much as 40%, and Bernstein sees payments as a potential winner, with more online transactions potentially benefiting Visa, Mastercard and processors Stripe, Adyen and Checkout.

Diageo brand Johnnie Walker has introduced a limited edition Blue Label Indian Festive Blend inspired by India's festivals and cuisine. The release features packaging and design created with Indian couturier Rahul Mishra, highlighting contemporary Indian visual themes, and the blend is tailored specifically for the Indian market, reflecting local flavor influences and cultural traditions. The launch fits Diageo's broader push to localise brands in key consumption markets like India, part of a premiumization strategy aimed at earning more from affluent drinkers rather than chasing volume, and it puts the £36.4b beverage group up against competitors including Pernod Ricard and Campari. The move does not address a key gap analysts have flagged: Diageo still needs broader product development in low and no-alcohol options as moderation trends build.

AI agents are moving from experimental pilots into procurement, accounting, and finance, where they are redesigning work through role consolidation, hiring freezes, and the quiet absorption of junior positions. Workday has launched a suite of AI agents for finance, including an Accounting Agent that continuously reconciles accounts, tests controls, and catches variances, and a Procurement Agent that reviews every transaction against contract terms and SLAs. SAP has introduced Joule agents for procurement through Ariba and Fieldglass, plus an Expense Automation Agent the company says cuts report completion time by up to 30% and a Project Billing Price Verification Agent that reduces time spent resolving price discrepancies by 75%. On Oct. 7, Automation Anywhere announced the acquisition of Boost.ai, extending its Autonomous Enterprise vision, the idea that business functions can run up to 80% autonomously, into conversational and voice AI for back-office workflows. BCG's Henderson Institute reported in January 2026 that 50% to 55% of US jobs will be reshaped in the next two to three years, with 10% to 15% eliminated within five, and data from JobZone Risk in October 2026 shows that of 21 million US workers in finance and accounting, only 3% sit in what the firm calls a structurally safe zone. Ninety percent of Chief Procurement Officers are already exploring or using AI agents, according to Icertis and ProcureCon research, and 64% expect AI to transform their roles within five years, per the Hackett Group.

Prodigy Clean Energy, together with Pabineau First Nation and Eel River Bar First Nation, selected BWX Technologies' BANR microreactor technology for an Indigenous-owned, transportable nuclear power plant in Belledune, New Brunswick, targeting in-service operation in the early 2030s with modular, factory-built units. The project is backed by a Government of New Brunswick power offtake letter and advances BWXT's push into transportable microreactors that could underpin future deployments across remote Canadian regions and export markets. The selection gives BWXT another reference project for its microreactor catalyst, though it does not materially reduce risks around contract concentration, commercial margin pressure, or execution on its expanding capital program. Among other recent announcements, BWXT received a US$4 million preliminary design award from the NNSA for a new Lithium Processing Facility at Y 12, which together with the Belledune project feeds the same nuclear-focused backlog story. The company's narrative projects $4.8 billion revenue and $539.9 million earnings by 2029, requiring 10.7% yearly revenue growth and a $184.7 million earnings increase from $355.2 million today, while the most pessimistic analysts model revenue of about US$4.5 billion and earnings of roughly US$519 million by 2029.

Kyoritsu Maintenance has released preliminary sales figures for August and the year to date that are higher than those reported for the same periods in 2025. The update arrived alongside a stretch of rising market interest, with the shares up 13.97% year to date and 13.21% over 90 days, while the 5 year total shareholder return of 63.39% points to momentum built gradually over time. The stock closed at ¥3,279, and on a P/E of 16.4x it is valued at a lower earnings multiple than both its sector and the broader hospitality peer group, whose average P/E stands at 21.7x, against an estimated fair P/E of 22.3x. The SWS DCF model points the other way, with the shares sitting well above an estimated future cash flow value of ¥730.86, implying the stock screens as overvalued on a cash flow basis. Kyoritsu Maintenance relies heavily on Japan-based demand and broad exposure to hospitality and development cycles, which can pressure earnings if conditions weaken.

Parsons Corporation was selected by Army Contracting Command – Rock Island, working with the Air Force Civil Engineering Center, to provide comprehensive Owner's Advisor support under an initial US$85 million, 75-month agreement for the progressive design-build of U.S. Space Command's new 950,000-square-foot headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The award expands Parsons' Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure portfolio and places the company at the center of one of the Department of War's largest progressive design-build initiatives, as well as one of the Air Force's first uses of an Owner's Advisor delivery model. The Space Command win sits alongside a string of recent defense and space awards, including an August 2026 US$514 million Missile Defense Agency TEAMS option. Parsons' investment narrative projects $7.2 billion in revenue and $407.1 million in earnings by 2029, requiring 4.6% yearly revenue growth and a $249.7 million earnings increase from $157.4 million today. The most optimistic analysts see around US$7.6 billion of revenue and roughly US$480.8 million of earnings by 2029, though investors still need to weigh execution risk, contract timing, and an unresolved legal and reputational overhang.

U.S. space and artificial intelligence company SpaceX announced it will acquire licenses for the spectrum bands used for mobile phones. The company, which operates the satellite communications network service Starlink, stressed that it "will become the first network operator to deploy both satellite and ground-based networks." The acquisition it disclosed covers radio waves in the 800-megahertz band, which travel long distances and are hard to block with buildings or walls, part of a spectrum range known in Japan as the "platinum band." U.S. financial giant Morgan Stanley called the announcement a major step toward building a mobile communications network, and said that while the acquisition price was not disclosed, it "would not be surprised if it approached 8 billion dollars, or roughly 1.3 trillion yen." In the U.S. stock market on the 9th, shares of the three major U.S. telecom carriers plunged, while shares of tower companies that handle base station construction and other work were bought. Still, Morgan Stanley analyzed that the spectrum band is insufficient for expanding service to densely populated areas and that infrastructure development will also be necessary, and it believes "there is still a long road ahead to compete head-on with major telecom carriers."

Vannor launched its agentic marketing model, introducing autonomous AI agents that manage a brand's marketing workflow from research and content planning through publication and ongoing optimization. The launch follows early results from Vannor's own deployment of the technology: within one week, the company increased its weekly Google search impressions from 318 to 1,762, reaching 554% of its previous weekly search visibility, and over a one-month period it recorded a 30-fold increase in the number of Google searches for which it ranked on the first page, with top-three rankings up 51-fold, based on Google Search Console data comparing August 24-30 with September 23-29, 2026. The agents research live search results and a brand's existing search data, decide which topics or pages to prioritize, create content in the brand's voice, and pass each piece through an AI editor and a separate AI review panel with hard safeguards blocking invented facts, prices, and quotes before approved content is published directly to platforms such as WordPress, Shopify, and Wix. The system runs on NVIDIA DGX Spark AI supercomputer hardware owned and operated by Vannor, using GB10 Grace Blackwell architecture, 128 GB of unified memory per node, and ConnectX-7 networking, with customer information processed only on Vannor-owned hardware and never sent to a third-party AI provider. Vannor is now moving toward a partner model, focusing on multi-location brands, agencies managing marketing for client businesses, and growing companies that need to produce and optimize marketing across multiple channels, with applications accepted at vannor.ai/contact.

Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon.com Inc.'s AWS, said concerns over an AI spending bubble are overstated, telling a16z's podcast with Raghu Raghuram on Thursday that Amazon does not rely on one customer for most AWS capacity and that "we feel really good about the spend we're making now." Garman said demand is concentrated in production workloads such as computing, storage and AI inference, and that a diversified approach means not all capacity is bundled up in one customer, comparing the market to venture capital where failed startups can be offset by successful investments. His comments come as AWS highlights efforts to make AI more affordable, and as Amazon is reportedly in talks to transfer about $8 billion worth of Nvidia Corp.'s Grace Blackwell AI chips to an investor-backed special-purpose vehicle that could raise funds through debt issuance while Amazon leases the chips back. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy raised the company's 2026 capital expenditure forecast by $20 billion to $220 billion in July, citing rising memory chip prices and strong demand for AI and AWS infrastructure. Separately, billionaire investor Ray Dalio warned that rising AI-related borrowing, higher interest rates and pressure to turn paper wealth into cash could bring the AI bubble closer to bursting, calling the boom a "classic bubble" and comparing the current AI rally to the late 1920s.

The European Union and China reached a preliminary agreement on Friday to cut Chinese hybrid vehicle exports to the bloc by more than half, offering relief to European automakers ahead of next week's Paris Motor Show. The deal could ease competitive pressure on Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault, which are struggling with declining sales and growing competition from Chinese manufacturers, though details remain limited and Germany's VDA automotive association described it only as an initial positive signal. Chinese brands captured nearly 12% of Europe's new-car market in August, according to Dataforce, and EU imports of Chinese cars and light commercial vehicles surged almost 75% to nearly 770,000 units during January-August, with hybrids currently avoiding the additional EU tariffs imposed on Chinese-made battery-electric cars. European manufacturers face mounting financial pressure, as Mercedes-Benz reported an 8% decline in third-quarter car sales while Volkswagen recently lowered its profit outlook following a similar warning from BMW. The Paris Motor Show, running October 12-18, will highlight efforts to defend European market share through affordable electric vehicles and new partnerships, with Renault's Dacia brand showcasing its second-generation Spring electric car priced below €18,000 in France, Volkswagen presenting its ID. Tiguan alongside a strategy involving four smaller electric vehicles manufactured in Spain, and Stellantis displaying more than 60 vehicles across eight brands including a Citroën electric concept developed using technology from Chinese partner Leapmotor, while Chinese competitors BYD, XPeng and Zeekr will also showcase expanded lineups.

BETA Technologies has partnered with Marshall University to create an electric aviation workforce training program in West Virginia. The collaboration includes showcasing BETA electric aircraft at Yeager Airport in Charleston as part of the training effort. The initiative is intended to support advanced air mobility development and regional talent pipelines linked to electric aviation infrastructure. BETA Technologies, a US-based aerospace and defense player with a market cap of $4.8b, builds electric aircraft, propulsion hardware, and charging systems, so the Marshall University tie-up plugs directly into its need for skilled technicians and airport partners that can work with that full ecosystem. The investment story for BETA Technologies leans on turning a multibillion dollar aircraft and component backlog into real usage, with an electric charging network and operator ecosystem that can support cargo, medical and defense missions at scale.

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. is expanding its mining machinery business and strengthening international operations, with its mining machinery business growing by more than 57.20% year on year in the first half of 2026. Company-wide international revenue rose 12.45% to RMB 15.535 billion, accounting for 57.25% of total revenue, an increase of 1.67 percentage points from a year earlier. The company said growth in South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa and East Asia outpaced its overall international growth rate. Zoomlion's mining portfolio covers excavation, loading, haulage, crushing and screening, with flagship models including the ZE4000G, a 400-tonne mining excavator, and the ZTE520 hybrid electric-drive mining truck, with a rated payload of 300 tonnes. Wu Yuanfeng, deputy general manager of Zoomlion Mining Machinery, said pure-electric products can cut costs by more than 50% and hybrid models can improve profitability by 15% or more, while hybrid mining trucks can cut fuel consumption by up to 40% and 100-tonne-class battery-electric mining trucks have logged more than 8,000 hours of stable operation. As of June 30, 2026, Zoomlion operated more than 30 primary business hubs, over 530 secondary and tertiary outlets, and more than 300 spare parts warehouses worldwide, with its Hungarian aerial work platform factory beginning production and its German facility expanded into a multipurpose hub.