SET slides amid concerns over economic impact from second wave of Covid-19
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index dropped by 13.72 points, or 1.00 per cent, to 1,362.46 on Thursday morning (June 18).
A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to fall to between 1,360 and 1,365 due to uncertainty following the second wave of Covid-19 cases, as it would slowdown the economy.
“Investors are worried that the US and China would issue lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 again after the number of new cases in the US rose to 26,000, while China has raised its emergency level back,” the analyst said.
“In addition, bank and financial stocks would be under pressure after the Bank of Thailand asked financial institutions to cut interest rate by 2-4 per cent, starting from July 1 until the end of this year in order to relieve people’s suffering from the Covid-19 impact.”
He recommended investors to buy:
▪ Stocks whose second-quarter performance will improve, such as CKP, TASCO, STA, and RS.
▪ Defensive stocks, such as INTUCH, TTW, and DIF.
▪ Marine shipping stock that benefit from rising freight rate, such as PSL, TTA, AMA, and PRM.
The SET Index rose by 9 points on Wednesday, or 0.66 per cent, closing at 1,376. Total transactions amounted to Bt71.5 billion.
Net sale by foreign investors amounted to Bt1.861 billion in stocks, while net buy of bonds was Bt11.492 billion. There were 11,020 net short TFEX SET50 contracts.
