Soraphol Tulayasathien, SET’s senior executive vice president for organisation strategy, said that in July, SET was positively influenced by investors’ improved confidence in Thailand’s political stability, coupled with the fact that Moody’s has changed Thailand’s rating to positive. “However, external risk factors should not be overlooked,” he said. “For example, the ongoing US-China trade war that is likely to become more serious, the trade clash between Japan and South Korea, as well as [the US] Fed’s financial policies.”

Key summary of SET as of July 2019 is as follows:

– SET Index closed at 1,711.97 points, dropping 1.1 per cent from the previous month, but rising 9.5 per cent from the end of 2018. Agriculture, food industry, technology, resource and service groups offer more yields than the SET Index.

– Foreign investors make net purchases worth Bt20.524 billion.

– Combined average trading volume per day of SET and MAI is Bt64.05 billion, 23 per cent higher than the previous year.

– Forward and historical price to earnings (P/E) is at 16.4 and 18.5 times respectively, higher than Asia’s average at 14.6 and 16.0 times respectively.

– Dividend rate is at 3.02 per cent, higher than MSCI Emerging Market’s average at 2.89 per cent.

– Total security value of SET and MAI is Bt17.9 trillion, 10.5 per cent higher than the end of 2018.

– During the first seven months of 2019, total IPO value is at Bt14.131 billion.

– In July, futures exchange market has an average trade volume per day of 509,534 contracts, 34 per cent higher than first half of the year’s average.