Futures Focus

The SET50 Index closed last week at 993.89 points, an increase of 7.93 points, or 0.8% from the previous week. The most traded SET50 Futures contract S50H22 (expiring in March 2022) was settled at 986.50 points, an increase of 9.2 points, or 0.94%.

Wall Street rallied for three days before a sell-off on Thursday in response to disappointing tech earnings and increasing signals from the Federal Reserve that it could start raising interest rates as soon as March. Shares fell on Friday as the biggest retail sales slump in 10 months suggested inflation was starting to bite for consumers. The Dow closed down 201 points (0.6%) to end the week at 35,911.81, a decrease of 0.9% from 36,231.66 the week before.

Thai shares advanced as investors focused on companies expected to report improved fourth-quarter earnings over the next few weeks. The index slipped back on Friday amid worries about a US rate hike, closing down 7.39 points to end the week at 1,672.63, an increase of 0.9% from 1,657.62 the previous week.

On the TFEX, daily average trading volume was 478,822 contracts, a decrease of 125,480 contracts, or 20.76% from the previous week. The most actively traded product was Single Stock Futures with 1,331,326 contracts, or 266,265 per day. Total market open interest was 4,414,361 contracts, up 179,982 or 4.25%.