Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,129.66 points, a decrease of 17.83 points or 1.55% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50M18 (expiring in June 2018) was settled at 1,127.10 points, a decrease of 21.4 points or 1.86%.

US and European stocks struggled early last week amid concerns about Italy’s political crisis, which was finally resolved on Friday with the swearing in of a populist coalition. Markets rebounded on Wednesday, supported by energy shares as oil prices rallied, only to fall the next day when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico, risking retaliation by trade partners and reigniting fears of a global trade war. The Dow jumped 219 points on Friday in response to strong US jobs data to finish the week at 24,635.21, a decrease of 0.5% from 24,753.09 the week before.

In Thailand, trading on the SET index was also volatile because of international factors. Anxiety about Italy and a retreat in oil prices pressured the market on Thursday. The SET fell 7.15 points despite a rebound in banking shares on Friday to finish the week at 1,719.82, a decrease of 1.3% from 1,741.21 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 354,895 contracts, a decrease of 27,542 contracts or 7.2% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 770,578 contracts, or 192,645 per day. Total market open interest was 3,718,768 contracts, an increase of 48,505 or 1.32%.