Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,077.93 points, a decrease of 6.61 points or 0.6% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50M19 (expiring in June 2019) was settled at 1,071.10 points, a decrease of 9.4 points or 0.87%.

The US stock market was sharply lower in the run-up to Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday as investors dumped technology and internet-related companies. The decline spread to the broader market, as major retailers Target and Lowe’s reported disappointing earnings. However, stocks were able to recover some of the losses on Wednesday. When trading resumed on Friday, the Dow closed down 178 points to finish the week at 24,285.95, a decrease of 4.4% from 25,413.22 the week before.

The Thai market also experienced a big sell-off as concerns affecting the US market spread to Asia, while oil prices also continued to sink. Most bourses across Asia lost at least 1% early Wednesday after the Dow shed more than 550 points overnight. However, a short-term rebound was seen on Thursday as global oil prices rallied, though only briefly. The SET gained another 17.70 points on Friday to end the week at 1,622.10, down 0.8% from 1,635.00 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 261,723 contracts, a decrease of 42,782 contracts or 14.05% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was SET50 Index Futures with 718,864 contracts, or 143,773 per day. Total market open interest was 2,870,002 contracts, a decrease of 74,154 or 2.5%.