The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index at end-July closed at 1,328.53 points or a 0.8 percent decline from the previous month with various factors weighed on investors’ sentiments including US-China conflict, concerns over the second wave of COVID-19 spread, releases of Thailand’s economic indicators and listed companies’ first half performance announcement. These factors kept SET Index move in a tight range. SET Index’s 15.9 percent drop from end-2019, however, fared better than MSCI ASEAN which slipped 19.4 percent.
SET Senior Executive Vice President Soraphol Tulayasathien said that the SET Index was relatively flat in July with most industries outperforming SET Index. Agro & Food Industry and Consumer Products industry groups ended the month in positive territory. Certain sectors benefited from economic recovery after the country’s lockdown measures have been relaxed, those included electronic components, food and beverage, and personal products and pharmaceuticals. Significantly, in July there was some sign of recovery in the non-SET100 securities. SET and mai combined average daily trading value in July stood at THB 64.01 billion, on par with the same period a year earlier. The average daily trading value of the first 7 months of 2020 was at THB 67.97 billion, or a 31.3 percent increase from the same period last year.
In addition, sentiment of investors’ confidence showed an uptick as foreign investors’ selling spree tended to abate while IPO launches were active once again. In July, the bourse welcomed Sri Trang Gloves pcl (STGT) and Silicon Craft Technology pcl (SICT) with a combined fund mobilization of THB 15.04 billion from IPOs. The total trading value of both securities was THB 81.44 billion, accounting for 6.46 percent of the total trading value in July.
Key highlights for July
- SET Index ended July at 1,328.53 points, a 0.8 percent decline from the preceding month and a 15.9 percent fall from end-2019. However, the index outperformed MSCI ASEAN, which dropped 19.4 percent from the end of last year.
- Zooming in by industry group, several industry group indices outperformed SET Index with Agro & Food Industry and Consumer Products industry groups closing the month in positive territory compared with end-2019.
- In July, non-SET100 securities for the first time this year showed sign of recovery, as well as other sectors such as electronic components, food & beverage, and personal products and pharmaceuticals sectors, which benefited from relaxed lockdown measures.
- The average daily trading value of SET and mai in July amounted to THB 64.01 billion. During the first 7 months of this year, the average daily trading value rose 31.3 percent from a year earlier to THB 67.97 billion.
- Local investors’ transaction value continued to hit fresh record high for the fifth straight month, accounting for 48.03 percent of total trading value. In addition, foreign investors slowed down their selling pace in July with a net of THB 9.94 billion, the lowest level in 7 months.
- Forward and historical P/E ratios of SET were 21.4 times and 19.1 times respectively at end-July, exceeding the average ratio of Asian markets at 16.3 times and 17.5 times, respectively.
- Dividend yield ratio of SET was 3.66 percent at end-July, above Asian stock markets' average ratio of 3.03 percent.
Derivatives market
- In July, the derivatives trading volume averaged 397,340 contracts per day, down 20.3 percent from the previous month, mainly driven by trading in Single Stock Futures and SET 50 Index Futures. During the first 7 months of 2020, the average daily trading volume was at 484,269 contracts, a 21.75 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
