Major stock markets in Asia traded higher in the morning session on Friday amid a rebound in oil prices and a recovery sign of the U.S. economy after the jobless claims fell for the seventh week straight to a pandemic low.
Thailand’s SET Index opened at 1,655.84 points, increased 4.82 points or 0.29%.
As of 10:01 local time in Thailand, Nikkei rose 0.41%, SSEC gained 0.15%, Hang Seng Index fell 1.72%, ASX 200 increased 0.07% and IDX Composite edged 0.80% higher.
The number of Americans filed for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 last week to 268,000, according to the report of the Labor Department on Thursday. The number was a new low since the Covid-19 pandemic and also a drop for the seventh straight week as well. Jobless claims have been moving toward a pre-pandemic level of around 220,000 a week.
Meanwhile, oil prices bounced back from a six-week low as investors monitor the situation closely after world’s largest oil consumers, including China, on Thursday agreed with the move proposed by the U.S. to release their strategic reserves to ease demand and bring down the oil prices.
Mr. Kantara Ladawan na Ayutthaya, executive director of Finansia Syrus Securities (FSS), through “Kaohoon Jor Talad Program” on November 19, 2021, stated that the Thai stock market is in a sideway-up trend, seeing that the foreign investors have been net buying Thai shares this month, coupled with the anticipation of an improve Covid-19 situation and more tourist arrivals.
Mr. Ladawan expected the banking sector to lead the market higher in this uptrend, following the recovery in the Thai economy, while the prices have yet to reach the pre-Covid level. Nevertheless, Mr. Ladawan noted that the banking sector has been on a rise as of late, thus, the sector could correct before continuing to increase.
In addition, Mr. Ladawan also added that the ICT sector will be benefiting from their investment starting next year as people and corporates are shifting toward digital transformation.
