Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,080.05 points, an increase of 16.34 points or 1.54% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50U18 (expiring in September 2018) was settled at 1,072.50 points, an increase of 14.8 points or 1.4%.

US equity market sentiment was quite strong last week despite concerns about a growing trade war as President Donald Trump threatened to expand tariffs against China to cover another $20 billion worth of goods. Wall Street closed firmly higher on Thursday with a rally in internet and technology sectors which helped temper the intensity of trade frictions. Industrial and energy companies led gains on Friday but bank earnings reports disappointed investors. The Dow closed up 95 points on Friday to finish the week at 25,019.41, an increase of 2.3% from 24,456.48 the week before.

The Thai stock market moved in line with regional bourses in volatile trade that responded to trade and oilmarket news. The SET index moved between 1,619.46 and 1,646.50 points, mostly on the positive side. The main gauge rose 2.59 points on Friday to finish the week at 1,643.52, an increase of 1.8% from 1,614.76 the week before.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 359,685 contracts, a decrease of 60,307 contracts or 14.4% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was SET50 Index Futures with 869,062 contracts, or 173,812 per day. Total market open interest was 2,419,095 contracts, a decrease of 4,001 or 0.2%.