SET lifted by vaccine hopes, strong US economic data
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,374.13 today (July 2), up 24.69 points or 1.83 per cent.
Total transactions amounted to Bt84.485 billion with an index high of 1,376.31 and a low of 1,353.50.
In the morning session, a stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to fluctuate between 1,340 and 1,360 due to mixed sentiments.
“The market was buoyed by advances in Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine research, the US private payroll in June adding 2.369 million jobs, and the crude oil price rising in response to US storage dropping by 7.2 million barrels,” the analyst said.
However, the index was still pressured by uncertainty following the second wave of Covid-19 cases in the US where daily cases are still rising, added the analyst.
“Also, the latest US Federal Reserve’s meeting pinpointed a risk that fiscal measures may not be enough to assist households, businesses, and local governments, which would drag down the index.”
The 10 stocks with the highest trade values today were STGT, STA, PTT, SCC, MINT, PTTEP, KBANK, CPF, BAM, and AOT.
As of 4.30pm, the crude oil price had risen by US$0.22 or 0.55 per cent to $40.04 per barrel, while gold was up by $3.20 or 0.18 per cent to $1,783.10 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were on the rise:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 22,145.96, up 24.23 points, or 0.11 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,090.57, up 64.59 points, or 2.13 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 12,269.49, up 156.52 points, or 1.29 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 25,124.19, up 697.00 points, or 2.85 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,135.37, up 28.67 points, or 1.36 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 11,805.14, up 101.72 points, or 0.87 per cent.
