Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,161.26 points, a decrease of 7.05 points or 0.6% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50M18 (expiring in June 2018) was settled at 1,164.20 points, a decrease of 5.8 points or 0.5%.

US equity sentiment was pressured last week by rising yields on the 10-year treasury note to a seven-year peak above 3.1%. Also, investors were keeping a close eye on trade talks between the US and China, after President Donald Trump said Beijing had become too “spoiled” and that he had lowered his expectations. The S&P dipped on Thursday despite gains in energy shares from high oil prices. Trade worries continued to weigh on markets on Friday, with the Dow closing almost unchanged at 24,715.09, a decrease of 0.5% from 24,831.17 the week before.

The SET index moved mostly downward amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve might step up the pace of interest-rate increases, leading to more foreign investor selling. Climbing oil prices lifted heavyweight energy shares but not enough to help the index overall. The SET rose 2.97 points on Friday to finish the week at 1,754.17, a decrease of 0.6% from 1,765.93 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 447,706 contracts, an increase of 68,482 contracts or 18.1% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 1,437,138 contracts, or 287,428 per day. Total market open interest was 3,593,340 contracts, an increase of 13,927 or 0.4%.