Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,147.21 points, a decrease of 24.58 points or 2.1% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50J18 (expiring in April 2018) was settled at 1,142.40 points, a decrease of 28 points or 2.4% from the previous week.

A heavy sell-off in high-valuation tech stocks crushed the US market to start the second quarter of the year before shares stormed back later in the week as investors reassessed the danger of a trade-damaging spiral of tariff increases by the US and China. However, the euphoria was short-lived as President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was looking for another $100 billion in Chinese goods to punish after Beijing said it would penalise US soybeans, aircraft and automobiles. The Dow sank 572 points (2.3%) on Friday to finish the week at 23,932.76, down 0.7% from 24,103.11 the week before.

In Thailand, concern over a US-China trade war also affected the market. However, investors are hoping that reports of possible negotiations turn out to be true. After plunging 40 points on Wednesday, the SET rose 14.94 points on Thursday to finish the holiday-shortened week at 1,739.92, down 2.1% from 1,776.26 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 419,712 contracts, a decrease of 394,082 contracts or 48.4% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 847,348 contracts, or 211,837 per day. Total market open interest was 3,187,930 contracts, a decrease of 9,662 or 0.3%.