Stimulus measures boost SET by 8%
Fresh stimulus measures announced by governments and central banks hiked the value of stocks in Thailand by almost 8 per cent on Friday (March 20).
Cheered further by the rebounding crude oil price, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index closed at 1,127.24 for an increase of 83.05 points or 7.95 per cent from Thursday’s end of trading.
Transactions amounted to Bt93.035 billion, with an index high of 1,133.56 and a low of 1,070.05.
Analysts expected the index to rise on Friday to between 1,060 and 1,065 points before falling again because the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths are still rising, especially in Europe and the United States, suppressing the global economy.
But central banks and governments in the US, Europe and elsewhere have announced monetary and fiscal measures to relieve the virus’ impact, which is expected to relax short-term investment.
The price of crude oil price rose after Washington said it would purchase a sizeable amount for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, lending positive sentiment to energy stocks and the markets.
As of 5.10pm on Friday, global stocks were trending upward.
The crude price rose by US$1.95 per barrel or 7.73 per cent to $27.17, while gold climbed $30.70 or 2.08 per cent to $1,510 per ounce.
The stocks trading highest on the SET were CPALL, BAM, PTT, GULF, ADVANC, AOT, GPSC, PTTEP, SCC and CPF.
Elsewhere in Asia:
China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,745.62, up 43.49 points or 1.61 per cent.
Shenzhen’s SE Component Index closed at 10,150.12, up 130.27 or 1.3 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 22,805.07, up 1,095.94 or 5.05 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 1,566.15, up 108.51 or 7.44 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 9,234.09, up 552.75 or 6.37 per cent.
