Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,002.93, down 2.01 points or 0.2% from the week before. The most active SET50 Futures contract S50U13 (expiring in September) was settled at 992.9 points, down 7.8 points or 0.78%.

On Wall Street, the S&P500 Index leaped to a new high of 1,693 points on Tuesday before moving sharply lower on Wednesday and Thursday. Although economic indicators point to a recovery (June new home sales rose 8.3% to 497,000 units, a five-year high), investors fear an improving economy will lead to a rollback of the Fed’s stimulus programme. As a result, some investors are moving to the sidelines ahead of the Fed meeting this week. June new home sales rose by 8.3% to 497,000 units, a five-year high. The Dow inched up 3.22 points on Friday to 15,558.63, up 0.1% from the week before.

In the commodity markets, gold climbed 3% on the week and was trading at $1,331 an ounce on Friday in London.

The Thai market rose 31 points on Tuesday before plummeting almost 50 points on Wednesday and Thursday, underperforming Asian peers. However, the SET managed to rebound on Friday afternoon but was still down 0.3% from the previous week. Foreign investors had a net buy position of 415 million baht for the week. Domestic political factors are starting to weigh on the market as the opening of the new House session approaches, and with it the debate over amnesty and 2 trillion baht in borrowing for infrastructure development.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 61,848 contracts, an increase of 17,389 contracts or 39.11% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was stock futures with 125,678 contracts or 31,420 per day on average. Total market open interest was 262,771 contracts, up 14.67%.