SET dragged down by negative sentiment from surge in Covid-19 cases
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 7.96 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 1,533.16 in the morning session on Friday as the market reopened after the Songkran holidays.
A Krungsri Securities analyst forecast that the SET would fall to between 1,530 and 1,535 points before rebounding after Covid-19 cases in Thailand increased by over 1,500 on Thursday. He added that this negative sentiment had affected the country's economy in all aspects.
"However, the rising oil price in response to Opec's new forecast that fuel demand would increase this year, together with falling US bond yield, would help the SET rebound," he said.
He suggested that investors buy:
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IVL, which benefit from the rising oil price.
▪︎ TQM, STGT, COM7, SYNEX, BDMS, BCH and CHG, which benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak.
▪︎ PSL, TTA and RCL, which would benefit from a rise in the freight rate.
The SET Index had closed at 1,541.12 on Monday, down 25.22 points or 1.61 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt78 billion with an index high of 1,562.07 and a low of 1,539.24.
The stock market was closed from Tuesday to Thursday for Songkran.
