SET Index edges up amid hopes of interest rate cut, stimulus measures

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the SET Index to rise to between 1,390 and 1,400, as investors were hopeful that other central banks, such as the European Central Bank and the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Thailand would follow the US Federal Reserve and cut the interest rate in view of the situation after the Covid-19 outbreak.
“In addition, the market would gain positive sentiment as the Ministry of Finance is ready to propose the first set of Covid-19 outbreak relief measures worth Bt100 billion on Friday,” the stock analyst said.
“This package would consist of various measures, such as handouts of Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 to low-income people, extension of soft loans which will in turn lend to small and medium-sized enterprises and tourism operators, and adjustment of Super Savings Fund criteria to be similar to the Long Term Equity Fund.”
The analyst recommended three groups of stocks for investors:
● Energy stocks, which would benefit from Opec and its partners planning to cut production capacity by 1 million barrels a day on March 5-6, such as PTT, PTTEP, TOP, and PTTGC.
● Hotel, retail, and contractor stocks, which would benefit from the economic Cabinet’s approval of Bt75 billion economic stimulus measures and public private partnership projects, such as MINT, CENTEL, ERW, CPALL, HMPRO, BJC, STEC, and CK.
● Financial stocks, which responded to reduced financial costs due to interest rate cut trends, such as MTC, SAWAD, and KTC.