US Fed interest rate hike, rising jobless claims set to pressure SET
Krungsri Securities has forecast that the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index will fall to between 1,645 and 1,650 points on Friday.
It said the index is being pressured by uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve will raise the interest rate to tackle inflation and rising initial unemployment claims.
However, it said mass buy-ups of company shares whose business turnover is expected to grow and those that have gained positive sentiment will help boost the index.
It recommends the purchase of the following as an investment strategy:
• AOT, MINT, CENTEL, ERW and AAV will benefit from the government’s move to relaunch the Test & Go scheme from February 1 and the fourth phase of the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) travel subsidy from next week.
• PTTEP, TOP, PTTGC, IVL and SPRC will benefit from the rising price of oil and gross refining margin.
• BBL, TTB, KBANK, KTB and BLA will benefit from news of the US interest rate hike.
The SET Index closed at 1,656.96 on Thursday, down 1.28 points or 0.08 per cent. Transactions totalled 80.86 billion baht with an index high of 1,666.60 and a low of 1,656.47.
