SET holds up on hopes of economic recovery

Total transactions were worth Bt60.549 billion with an index high of 1,283.01 and a low of 1,260.96.
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expects the index to fluctuate between 1,255 and 1,280, and said the market was buoyed by hopes of an economic recovery now that the number of Covid-19 cases in Thailand is steadily dropping. 
“Also, many countries like the US, Italy and Thailand are planning to ease lockdown measures by allowing some businesses to resume operations,” the analyst said.
However, he said, energy and petroleum stocks will be under pressure as the price of crude oil has dropped sharply due to uncertainty from oversupply and the US reserves of oil nearing maximum. 
“In addition, investors are selling stocks due to uncertainty after a drop in listed companies’ performance in the first quarter, which will result in market volatility,” the analyst said. 
“Investors expect the first-quarter performance of PTT Exploration and Production and Siam Cement to drop both on quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year basis.”
The top 10 stocks with the highest value of trade today were BAM, GULF, PTT, CPALL, GPSC, KBANK, AOT, SAWAD, SCC and BEAUTY.
As of 5pm, the price of crude oil dropped by US$0.96 or 7.51 percent to $11.82 per barrel, while gold price dropped by $0.10 or 0.01 percent, to $1,723.70 per ounce.
Meanwhile, US and European indices were on the rise, while Asian indices had a mixed day: 
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 19,771.19, down 12.03 points, or 0.061 percent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,810.02, down 5.47 points, or 0.19 percent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,501.15, up 48.98 points, or 0.47 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 24,575.96, up 295.82 points, or 1.22 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 1,934.09, up 11.32 points, or 0.59 percent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 10,616.06, up 48.79 points, or 0.46 percent.