Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,091.55 points, an increase of 13.62 points or 1.26% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50Z18 (expiring in December 2018) was settled at 1,092.70 points, an increase of 13.9 points or 1.3%.

The mood on Wall Street improved last week, with shares rallying on Monday amid optimism about retail sales on Cyber Monday, as well as stabilising oil prices. However, the direction reversed on Thursday as investors awaited further developments from the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, where Donald Trump and Xi Jinping were preparing to discuss their differences on trade. The Dow gained 200 points on Friday to finish the week at 25,538.46, an increase of 5.1% from 24,285.95 the week before. The S&P 500 recorded a weekly gain of 4.8%, its best one-week performance since December 2011.

Sentiment in the Thai market moved along with other regional markets in response to international factors. Support from the rebound in world oil prices sent the energyheavy index higher on Friday. The SET rose 5.31 points to finish the week at 1,641.80, an increase of 1.2% from 1,622.10 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 222,545 contracts, a decrease of 39,178 contracts or 15% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was SET50 Index Futures with 610,735 contracts, or 122,147 per day. Total market open interest was 2,858,074 contracts, almost unchanged from the previous week.