BANGKOK, The rise in the global energy prices propelled by the
Russia-Ukraine conflict raised investor concerns over inflation and global
economic slowdown. There have been fluctuations in worldwide financial markets
with signs of capital flight from risky assets to safe-haven assets. Moreover,
significant flows out of the conflict-ravaged capital markets such as European
countries have been pouring into the less affected ones including ASEAN
countries.
Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Senior Executive Vice President Soraphol
Tulayasathien said foreign funds were flown into the Thai stock market for the
three-consecutive months in February due to the country’s less exposure to
Russia and Ukraine, and limited impacts from inflation in the short term on the
Thai economy of which rebound is gaining traction. Furthermore, listed
companies, especially those in the Services industry group, and tourism and
leisure sector, are likely to benefit from country reopening in the near future.
In February, foreign investors bought THB 61.34 billion (approx. USD 1.87
billion) net of Thai shares, the highest in 16 years. At end-February SET Index
closed at 1,685.18 points, or a 2.2 percent rise from the previous month.
Key highlights for February
-SET Index ended February at 1,685.18 points, rising 2.2 percent from the
previous month, trending in the same direction as other ASEAN exchanges.
-In the first two months of 2022, SET Index was driven by the industries that
benefited from country reopening, with Services, Resources and Financials
industry groups outperforming the benchmark Index when compared with year-end
2021.
-In February, the average daily trading value of SET and mai was THB 99.05
billion, up 5.0 percent from the same period a year earlier. Foreign investors
dominated trading for the first month after COVID-19 pandemic spread in February
2020, accounting for 42.80 percent of total trading value.
-In February, IPO activities continued with one new company listed on SET: Peace
and Living pcl (PEACE), and another one on mai: Premier Tank Corporation pcl
(PTC).
-SET’s forward P/E ratio was 18.1 times at end-February, exceeding the average
ratio of other Asian markets at 13.5 times. The historical P/E ratio was 13.0
times, lower than the average ratio of other Asian markets at 16.0 times.
-The dividend yield ratio of SET was 2.64 percent at end-February, above Asian
stock markets’ average ratio of 2.36 percent.
Derivatives market
-In February, the derivatives trading volume averaged 614,587 contracts per day,
an 8.5 percent increase from a year earlier, largely driven by trading in
Single Stock Futures and SET50 Index Futures.
Source: Stock Exchange of Thailand
