A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the SET Index would fall to the lowest level at 1,320 due to the decline in oil price after Opec and its partners last week did not reach a conclusion on reducing oil production.

“As a result, Saudi Arabia responded by lowering oil prices and announcing readiness to increase oil production to gain market share from Russia, causing negative sentiment in oil refinery and petroleum stocks,” the stock analyst said.

“Moreover, the uncertainty following the Covid-19 outbreak in which the number of infected people has increased over 100,000 people will damage the global economy, resulting in investors turning to safe haven assets, which can be seen from rising gold prices and declining US bond yield.”

The analyst recommended four groups of stocks to investors:

● Stocks that would benefit from the declining oil price, such as TASCO, EPG, STEC, and CK.

● Hotel and retail stocks that would benefit from the economic Cabinet’s approval of Bt100 billion economic stimulus measures, such as CENTEL, ERW, CPALL, HMPRO, and BJC.

● Financial stocks that responded to reduced financial costs due to interest rate cut trends, such as MTC, SAWAD, and KTC.

● Defensive stocks that pay high dividends, such as ADVANC, INTUCH, and TTW.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Index was at 19,545.19, down 1,204.56 points, or 5.81 per cent; China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index was at 2,961.29, down 73.22 points, or 2.41 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index was at 11,254.01, down 328.80 points, or 2.84 per cent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was at 25,230.55, down 916.12 points, or 3.50 per cent; South Korea’s KOSPI Index was at 1,962.27, down 77.95 points, or 3.82 per cent;Taiwan’s TAIEX Index was at 11,078.24, down 243.57 points, or 2.15 per cent.