SET may feel the heat from US Fed signal on rate rise
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index is expected to fluctuate between 1,635 and 1,655 points on Thursday amid rising oil prices in response to tension between the US and Russia over Ukraine, Krungsri Securities said.
It said the index gained positive sentiment from mass buy-ups of company stocks whose business turnover last year was expected to grow.
“However, investments would come under pressure with the US Federal Reserve signalling that it would raise the interest rate in March to tackle inflation. So we advise investors to buy stocks which have gained specific positive sentiment,” Krungsri Securities said.
It recommended the purchase of the following shares as an investment strategy:
• PTTEP, Top, PTTGC, IVL and SPRC, which will benefit from the rising price of oil and the gross refining margin.
• BBL, KBank, KTB and BLA, which stand to benefit from news of a US interest rate hike.
• AOT, Mint, Centel, ERW and AAV, which would benefit from the resumption of the Test & Go scheme and the fourth phase of the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) travel subsidy.
The SET Index closed at 1,643.44 on Wednesday, up 4.35 points or 0.27 per cent. Transactions totalled 85.44 billion baht with an index high of 1,649.82 and a low of 1,642.07.
