Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 915.88 points, a decrease of 2.66 points or 0.3% from the previous week. The most active SET50 Futures contract S50U16 (expiring in September 2016) was settled at 909.40 points, a decrease of 2 points or 0.2%.

Major equity markets struggled for most of last week amid continuing concerns about Brexit, before strong jobs data on Friday sparked a rally. Minutes of the last US Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers were paying close attention to employment. Rising wages in particular could bring inflation closer to the Fed’s target and justify an interest-rate increase, but Brexit remains the wild card. US stocks fell Thursday as oil prices slumped. However, the Dow jumped 250 points on Friday after a report showed 287,000 new jobs were created in June, 100,000 more than forecast and a welcome upturn after a weak May in which just 11,000 positions were added. The Dow closed at 18,146.74, an increase of 1.1% from the week before.

Thai stocks followed the regional trend and remained steady despite the negative impact of Brexit and oil prices. However, investors moved to the sidelines on Friday to await economic data this week. The SET dipped 1.07 points on Friday to close at 1,455.65, up 0.7% from the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 258,833 contracts, a decrease of 220,253 contracts or 46% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was SET50 Futures with 531,109 contracts or 106,222 per day. Total open interest was 1,594,095 contracts, up 157,362 or 10.9%.