Major stock markets in Asia traded mostly higher on Monday as investors recovered from the decline last week amid rising concerns of the Fed’s faster pace in rate hike.
Thailand’s SET Index opened at 1,649.52 points, increased 10.01 points or 0.61%.
As of 10:42 local time in Thailand, Nikkei rose 0.99%, Hang Seng Index increased 1.44%, ASX 200 gained 0.11% and IDX Composite dipped 0.054%. Stock markets in China and South Korea are closed for the Lunar New Year eve. Hong Kong and Singapore exchanges will also be closed early today as well.
Asia Wealth Securities (AWS) stated that it expects the SET this week (31 January to 4 February) to move in a frame of 1,615-1,655 points. Last week, the SET closed at 1,639.51 points, down 13.22 points (- 0.8%) with an average daily trading volume of Bt83.7bn, down 7.9% WoW. The market still faces pressure from the Fed’s monetary policy at Hawkish more than the market expected.
However, the SET declined less than the region that is partly due to the boost in crude oil prices causing stocks in the energy sector to still have buying pressure to support the market. However, the movement of the Thai baht returned sharply at the end of the week, reflecting the movement of fund flow that has begun to flow after the FOMC meeting.
AWS still believes that the pressure from the U.S. inflation report (PCE) in December, which continues to rise to the lowest point in 30 years, will further push the Fed to carry more Hawkish monetary policy.
For the investment strategy, AWS recommends speculating on oil play stocks, picking PTTEP and SPRC and recommend investing in stocks based on the domestic economy in the portfolio, especially stocks that benefit from economic recovery and domestic purchasing power that AWS chooses KBANK, HMPRO, CPALL, CPN, TU, AOT and SHR.
