SET drops on US-China tension
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index dropped by 15.63 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 1,286.03 this morning (May 5).
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to fall to a range between 1,270 and 1,280 points before rebounding due to tension between the US and China.
“The global economy will be under pressure after the US indicated its intent to punish China for the spread of Covid-19 by imposing new tariffs on imported goods,” the stock analyst said.
He said the index would rebound from the rising crude oil price after Opec+ began to cut their production capacity by 9.7 million barrels per day, while the number of oil rigs functioning in the US dropped to 325.
“In addition, the decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases in Thailand and the move by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration to ease lockdown measures would boost investors’ confidence,” the analyst said.
He suggested investors make selective buys from these four groups of stocks:
● Energy stocks that would benefit from rising oil prices after Opec+ began to cut production, such as PTT, PTTEP, Top and PTTGC.
● ICT and food stocks that have escaped the severe impact of the outbreak, such as Advanc, Intuch, Dtac and CPF.
● Stocks whose first quarter performance are expected to improve, such as CPF, IVL, BCPG, GPSC and RS.
● Stocks that would be added to Morgan Stanley Capital International calculation, such as KTC, AWC and TOA.
