The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)’s Index continued to rise for the third straight month before it ended April at 1,093.56 points, up 4.40% from the previous month and 5.89% more than at end- 2010, making it the second-biggest gainer in Asia, only after South Korea. Gains on the Thai bourse were due, in large part, to sizable net buys, both in the Thai and major regional markets, by foreign investors. The rise in the index also pushed the Thai bourse’s market capitalization to THB8.86 trillion (approx. USD293.58 billion) while its forward P/E ratio went up to 12.85 times. The Thai Exchange remained the market with the highest dividend yield in the region, at 3.53%. Meanwhile, the daily average trading value on both the SET and Market for Alternative Investment (mai) was still at a high level at THB36.02 billion (approx. USD1.19 billion), or a 44.45% y-o-y rise. Derivatives trading has also seen a high level of liquidity, with an average daily trade volume of 30,569 contracts.
In April, rises on the SET Index were in line with its regional peers, partly due to increases in foreign investment in countries with sound economic fundamentals, particularly when compared with frail economic conditions in other regions with high risks, e.g., the Euro zone, which is struggling with a public debt crisis, or the US and Japan, whose credit ratings have been cut by S&P. On the Thai bourse, all Industry Group indices have shown consistent rises. As at end-April, the Resources Group saw the highest rise; the Industrials Group was the only group whose index remained lower than at end-2010. The mai Index closed April at 293.83 points, up 5.12% from March and up 7.71% from end-2010.
Higher securities prices pushed SET market capitalization up to THB8.86 trillion (approx. USD293.58 billion), a 4.38% month-on-month (m-o-m) rise, and that of the mai to soar to THB71.23billion (approx. USD2.36 billion), a 27.26% m-o-m increase, due to capital raising by Steel Intertech PCL (STEEL). In addition, the SET’s forward P/E ratio, as of April 30, also went up to 12.85 times, from 12.38 times in the preceding month and 11.33 times in the same month of last year. Despite a continued rise in the index, the Thai market’s dividend yield remained highest in the region, with the SET’s yield at 3.53% and the mai’s yield at 3.90% as of April 30, 2011.
In terms of daily trade, the combined average volume on both the SET and the mai, in April, hit the highest in 7 months, or since October 2010, soaring to THB36.02 billion (approx. USD1.19 billion) -- a 21.55% m-o-m rise or a 44.45% y-o-y increase. Meanwhile, foreign investors continued to post a net buy in April, reaching THB29.54 billion (approx. USD978.90 million). As a result, foreign investors’ net buy, recorded from January to April 2011, was THB28.83 billion (approx. USD28.83 billion (approx. USD955.33 million). Moreover, proprietary trading recorded a net buy of THB983.54 million (approx. USD32.57 million) in April, while retail investors and local institutions were the market’s net sellers of THB14.76 billion (approx. USD488.97 million) and THB15.77 billion (approx. USD522.47 million), respectively.
A breakdown on trade by market capitalization and Industry Group shows that, in April, the proportion of trade has flowed to small-cap stocks in various Industry Groups. This is illustrated by a rise in the trade proportion of non-SET50 securities from 24.04% in March to 29.84% of total trade in April, while trade in the top-10 big-cap securities shrank.
In the derivatives market, in April 2011, trade totaled 619,678 contracts, with daily average of 30,569 contracts--the highest level since the start of derivatives trade in April 2006 and a 3.73% increase from March 2011. Single stock futures (SSFs) and gold futures also ended higher and posted their highest daily averages since trade commenced. For SSFs, the average daily trade was 8,148 contracts; 50-baht and 10-baht gold futures saw average daily trades of 5,169 contracts and 4,979 contracts, respectively. Average daily trade for interest rate futures, however, remained at low in April.
In terms of capital-raising in April 2011, listed companies raised THB5.30 billion (approx. USD175.71 million) through equities, with THB3.42 billion (approx. USD113.32 million) from the primary market. Prime Office Leasehold Property Fund was the only fund to raise capital last month. Seasonal equity offerings raised THB1.88 billion (approx. USD60.40 million). During the first four months of 2011, total capital raised on the Thai bourse was worth THB47.48 billion (approx. USD1.57 billion), or up 334.58% from the same period last year.