Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 1,103.32 points, an increase of 23.27 points or 2.2% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50U18 (expiring in September 2018) was settled at 1,094.30 points, an increase of 21.80 points or 2%.

The US market moved in positive territory for most of the week as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell affirmed to Congress that the US economy was strong and interest rates would rise gradually this year. Corporate earnings were generally positive, but the Dow dipped on profit-taking on Thursday. More sabre-rattling by Donald Trump on trade with China gave investors pause on Friday, but the Dow shed just 6 points to finish the week at 25,058.12, an increase of 0.2% from 25,019.41 the week before.

In Thailand, the SET index moved between 1,626.07 and 1,671.06 points, where it closed after a gain of 24.17 points on Friday, up 2.3% from the week before, as strong bank earnings encouraged investors. The postponement of new accounting rules for another year to give firms more time to prepare also buoyed sentiment. However, the USChina trade war remained in focus, though the impact was expected to be limited.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 315,640 contracts, a decrease of 44,045 contracts or 12.3% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was SET50 Index Futures with 760,404 contracts, or 152,081 per day. Total market open interest was 2,461,686 contracts, an increase of 36,960 or 1.5%.