FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Fears of second Covid-19 wave put SET on the defensive

Fears of second Covid-19 wave put SET on the defensive

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 9.95 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 1,351.02 in the morning session on Wednesday (July 15).

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rebound between 1,350 and 1,355 before falling in response to positive news about a Covid-19 vaccine and rising crude oil price.

"Recently, Moderna revealed that the mRNA-1273 vaccine helped strengthen the Covid-19 patients' immunity," the analyst said.

"Meanwhile, the price of crude oil rose over US$40 per barrel again."

However, the analyst advised investors to beware of mass sell-offs due to uncertainty following the second Covid-19 wave in Thailand after the number of new cases increased.

"Also, we advise investors to follow developments at the Opec+ meeting to consider an agreement on reducing the production of crude oil," the analyst added.

He recommended that investors buy:

▪︎ Energy stocks that benefit from rising crude oil price, such as PTT, PTTEP, TOP, PTTGC, IRPC, SPRC and IVL.

▪︎ Food and electronics stocks that benefit from the weakening baht, such as TU, CPF, GFPT, TFG, ASIAN, KCE, DELTA, HANA and SVI.

▪︎ Stocks whose second-quarter performance will improve, such as TOP, PTTGC, SPRC, SCC, BGRIM, CKP, CPF, TU, TASCO, STA, STGT, SPALI, PRM, PTL, AJ, STARK and CBG.

The SET Index fell 1.30 points, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 1,341.07 points on Tuesday (July 14), with total transactions of Bt63.991 billion and an index high of 1,342.30 and a low of 1,326.65.

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