Futures Focus

The SET50 index closed last week at 1,189.45 points, an increase of 5.85 points or 0.5% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 futures contract S50H18 (expiring in March 2018) was settled at 1,187.40 points, an increase of 3.7 points or 0.3%.

US stocks reached a new high last Monday after Congress passed a temporary budget bill that ended a oneday government shutdown. The Dow slipped on Tuesday on disappointing earnings from Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble. However, it rebounded on Wednesday, driven by finance shares. Strong earnings from Intel and the drugmaker AbbVie lifted Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow gaining 224 points to finish the week at 26,616.71, up 2% from 26,071.72 the week before.

Thai stocks traded mostly sideways up, especially in the energy sector as a result of higher world oil prices. The baht remained strong against the US dollar but in line with other regional currencies. However, on Thursday stocks fell sharply on news that the general election might be delayed until February 2019. The market rebounded on Friday, led by energy shares, rising 9.59 points to finish the week at 1,828.88, an increase of 0.4% from 1,821.34 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 464,975 contracts, a decrease of 106,227 contracts or 18.6% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 1,306,908 contracts, or 261,382 per day. Total market open interest was 3,455,212 contracts, an increase of 142,700 or 4.3%.