It expects the SET Index to be more volatile in the second quarter amid uncertainty over whether the general election will be held next year.

Prakit Siriwattanaket, vice president of Kasikorn Securities, said about Bt49 billion of the total amount of dividends will go to foreign investors who may leave the country with their earnings and ease the baht in the short term, he said.

He said a drop in the SET Index as an opportunity to invest, particularly in banking, retail and the communications sectors.