Major stock markets in Asia traded mostly higher on Friday as the market continued to recover from earlier losses, while the U.S. market closed higher as well.
As of 10:30 local time in Thailand on April 29, 2022, SSEC rose 0.12%, Hang Seng Index fell 0.63%, ASX 200 increased 0.68% and Kospi gained 0.62%. Stock markets in Japan and Indonesia were closed for holiday.
Thailand’s SET Index opened at 1,670.04 points, increased 2.30 points or 0.14%.
The U.S. economy shrank 1.4% in the first quarter of 2022 after recording gradual growth for more than a year, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Thursday. The figure was below economist expectations of 1% growth and down from 6.9% expansion in the last quarter of 2021.
The data released on Thursday fueled concerns about recession in the future, while inflation is still running high amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Finansia Syrus Securities (FSS) expected SET Index to move in sideways trends within the 1,660-1,675 range as the index level has yet to slip past the support level of 1,655 points. The market should have a slight positive sentiment in the short-term, seeing a recovery in the U.S. market. However, there is no new positive factor to buoy the market, coupled with a lower-than-expected U.S. GDP in 1Q22, which indicated an economic slowdown.
The analyst recommended investors to monitor Eurozone GDP and U.S. PCE in March that could pressure the Fed for aggressive moves if reported higher.
FSSIA stated that the SET Index could slowdown in the short-term, recommending investors to accumulate stocks with good fundamentals around 1,600-1,650 index level. Meanwhile, the outlook for mid and long-term is still positive from the reopening that should benefit banking, refining, retail, property and F&B stocks.
