SET buoyed by rising oil price
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,138.27 on Thursday (April 2), up 32.76 points or 2.96 per cent on Wednesday's close.
Transactions totalled Bt69.237 billion, with an index high of 1,142.47 and a low of 1,105.31.
The afternoon session saw the Index buoyed by rising the crude oil prices as the US pushed Saudi Arabia and Russia to halt their oil price war, which lifted energy stocks such as PTT, PTTEP, PTTGC, and TOP by around 12 to 13 per cent.
Crude oil rose by US$1.91 or 9.40 per cent to $22.22 per barrel, while gold rose by $12.90 or 0.81 per cent to $1,604.30 per ounce.
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the SET Index to slump between 1,075 and 1,090 before rebounding.
"Investors are concerned about a severe economic recession due to the spread of Covid-19, especially in the US and Europe, while the number of Covid-19 cases worldwide has increased to over 910,000 people,” said the analyst, who preferred to remain anonymous.
“Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to prepare themselves for a difficult time in the next two weeks, while the death toll in the US may rise to between 100,000 and 240,000, causing uncertainty among investors.”
The analyst said the downward-trending crude oil price, after the US weekly oil stocks rose by 13.8 million barrels, would pressure energy stocks and the index.
“However, sales of the Super Savings Fund (SSF) until June this year and hopes for the third phase of government economic relief measures would help the index rebound.”
The top 10 stocks with the highest trade values on Thursday were PTT, BAM, PTTEP, PTTGC, IVL, CPALL, AOT, ADVANC, TOP, and SCC.
As of 5pm, US and European markets were on the rise, while Asian markets were mixed.
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 17,818.72, down 246.69 points or 1.37 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,780.64, up 46.12 points or 1.69 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,179.20, up 227.37 points or 2.28 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,280.06, up 194.27 points or 0.84 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 1,724.86, up 39.40 points or 2.34 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 9,663.63, down 44.43 points or 0.46 per cent.
