Thais stocks will rise on US Congress ‘blue wave’: expert
The Stock Exchange of Thailand will benefit from an influx of foreign funds after the US Democrats took control of Congress on Wednesday, according to a top analyst.
Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, executive vice president for research at Asia Plus Securities, added that Wednesday’s storming of the US Capitol building by Trump supporters would only have a short-term effect on the SET.
"Meanwhile, the Thai stock market is benefiting from foreign direct investment, President-elect Biden's policy to increase corporate tax and the minimum wage, the low-interest rate, baht appreciation and a liquidity overflow," he said.
He forecast the SET would range between 1,550 and 1,626 points this year based on an earnings yield of 3.5-3.7 per cent.
"The index could hit 1,640 points if central banks cut the interest rate by 0.25 per cent at the beginning of this year," he said.
Stocks that will benefit from the “blue wave” in US Congress were PTT, PTTEP, GULF, AP, DCC, ADVANC, TU, CPF and IVL, he added.
But Thailand's lockdown to deal with the fresh Covid-19 outbreak would hit the country's economy and SET-listed companies' performance, he warned.
"However, we believe the government will launch measures to support the economy amid the crisis," he said. Therdsak expects Thai GDP to grow by 4.1 per cent this year.
