The Stock Exchange of Thailand’s (SET) main stock index (SET Index) closed up at 1,246.10 points today, a new high in the past 16 years and two months, making it the best performer in Asia since the start of this year. In addition, SET’s new trading platform, SET CONNECT, ran with full efficiency throughout the first week of its operation, while trading via the Internet gained a record number of concurrent users.
SET President Charamporn Jotikasthira said the SET Index closed up 2.18 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,246.10 points, its highest level since July 5, 1996. Thus, the SET Index has risen 21.53 percent since the start of this year, being the top index performer among Asia’s main stock markets, reflecting the attractiveness of the Thai stock market and strong fundamentals of Thai listed companies. Today’s SET Index rise followed rallies of other stock markets in Asia after the European Central Bank’s announcement of its bond buying scheme eased investor’s concerns about the future of the euro currency.
SET CONNECT that began operating on September 3 has operated smoothly and efficiently throughout the week, offering ultra-low latency and larger capacity than the former system. Meanwhile, securities trading via Settrade’s Internet system also gained more concurrent users than before, with a record high of 40,000 concurrent users today, compared with a daily average of 30,000 concurrent users during January-August 2012.
Currently, securities trading via Internet accounts for 26.33 percent of total trading value.