Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 992.36 points, an increase of 1.39 points or 0.14% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50H17 (expiring in March 2017) was settled at 989.10 points, a decrease of 0.3 points or 0.03%.

The US stock market climbed on positive earnings reports and indications that President Donald Trump was preparing to deliver on promises of tax cuts. Stocks inched higher on Tuesday with gains in technology shares lifting the Nasdaq to a record as corporate earnings improved. He rally continued on Thursday and Friday after Mr Trump said his tax plan, to be announced in a few weeks, would be “phenomenal”. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 97 points on Friday to close at 20,269.37, an increase of 1% from 20,071.46 the week before.

In Thailand, trading on the SET was rangebound all week with no new domestic catalysts. Foreign investors have also been net sellers of Thai shares since the start of the month, leaving institutional investors to drive the rally. Many major listed companies are expected to announce 2016 earnings in the coming week. On Friday, the SET Index closed up 1.99 points at 1,585.24, up 0.2% from a week earlier.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 282,944 contracts, an increase of 14,222 contracts or 5.3% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 864,270 contracts, or 172,854 per day. Total market open interest was 1,997,055 contracts, an increase of 50,126 or 2.6%.