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• Daily average trading volume up year-on-year to USD 1.25 bln
• Market capitalization down 5.54 pct from July, weighed by U.S. econ, Euro debt fears
• Derivatives average trading marked record high of 74,816 contracts
• Dividend yields at high level of 3.86 pct in main board, 3.09 pct in alternative market
The Stock Exchange of Thailand’s (SET) trading volume still increased in August in both securities and derivatives, but market capitalization was hit by concerns about the U.S. economy and European public debt, pulling valuation down 5.54 percent from July, in line with other Asian bourses.
Average daily trading volume of the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment (mai) was at THB 37.40 billion (approx. USD 1.25 billion) in August, while trading volume of derivatives reached an all-time high, up 70.75 percent from a month ago, at 74,816 contracts as surging gold prices pushed up trading of gold futures. That also helped boosting trading volume of KTAM Gold ETF Tracker launched on Aug 8.
Hit by poor market sentiment across the region, the SET index dropped 5.60 percent from end-July; meanwhile, foreign investors became net sellers in the first eight months of this year after they dumped Thai stocks worth THB 42.15 billion (USD 1.40 billion) in August alone.
Key highlights for August
Securities
- Market capitalization was at THB 8.76 trillion (USD 292 billion), down 5.54 percent from July, but up 5.07 percent from end-2010, and market valuation of the mai was at THB 79.35 billion (USD 2.65 billion), down 7.42 percent from the previous month, but up 43.94 percent from the end of 2010.
- Average daily trading volume of SET and mai was at THB 37.4 billion (USD 1.25 billion), up 1.77 percent from a year earlier. In the first eight months, the trading volume increased 31.26 percent from the same period of last year to THB 32.18 billion.
- The forward P/E ratio for the SET was at 12.51 times, down slightly from 12.98 in July, while mai’s forward P/E fell to 10.51 times from 11.31 in the previous month.
- The dividend yield of the SET maintained its high level at 3.86 percent at end-August and mai’s dividend yield was at 3.09 percent. The SET and mai also made unprecedented dividend payment for the first half of this year, with a record 126 companies paying the highest dividend value of THB 110 billion.
- Foreign investors sold a net THB 42.15 billion (USD 1.41 billion), the highest level this year, becoming a net sale position worth THB 19.08 billion (USD 636 million) since the start of this year. They accounted for 23.22 percent of the total trading volume in the first eight months, compared with 18.40 percent in 2010.
- The SET index fell 5.60 percent month-on-month at the end of August. Since the start of this year, the index has increased 3.61 percent, making it the second-best performer in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.
Derivatives
- Average daily trading volume reached a record high of 74,816 contracts in August, up 70.75 percent from the previous month, with volumes of 50-Baht gold futures, 10-Baht gold futures and SET 50 Index futures all hitting record highs since they started trading.
- There are four trading days of August that the average daily trading volume reached above 100,000 contracts. The highest volume was at 122,572 contracts on August 25, 2011. Of the amount, 92,475 contracts were the volume of 50-Baht and 10-Baht gold futures.
- In the first eight months, average daily trading volume surged 106.38 percent from the whole of last year to 38,544 contracts.
- Trading in the night session has shown good growth since it started operating in June. At the end of August, trading volume of gold and silver futures in the night session accounted for 39.33 percent of the total trading volume of these two products.
