Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 964.44 points, an increase of 5.46 points or 0.6% from the previous week. The most active SET50 Futures contract S50U16 (expiring in September 2016) was settled at 962.60 points, an increase of 8.90 points or 0.9%.

US stock markets turned in a mixed performance last week. On Wednesday, the Dow and the S&P 500 closed lower after the Federal Reserve signalled a willingness to raise interest rates sometime in the fourth quarter. Wall Street mostly rose on Thursday in anticipation of good results from tech heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon, while the yen eased after the Bank of Japan expanded its monetary stimulus modestly to address signs of weak inflation. The S&P rose on Friday in line with good earnings reports and a slight recovery in oil prices, but the Dow slipped 84 points to 18,432.24, a decrease of 0.4% from 18,516.55 the week before.

Thai stocks closed higher on Wednesday in response to a larger-than-expected fiscal stimulus package from Japan. However, the SET pulled back on Friday as other Asian markets sank after the Bank of Japan’s monetary easing programme disappointed investors. The SET Index closed on Friday at 1,524.07 points, up 1% on the week.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 332,756 contracts, an increase of 60,554 contracts or 22.25% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 1,049,959 contracts, or 209,992 per day. Total market open interest was 1,842,481 contracts, an increase of 93,244 or 5.33%.