Major stock markets in Asia traded mostly higher on Monday as oil prices fell more than 3% after the attack of Houthi in Saudi’s Aramco facility, while China Shanghai’s city is entering another lockdown due to rising Covid cases.
As of 10:11 local time in Thailand, Nikkei dipped 0.58%, SSEC increased 0.02%, Hang Seng Index gained 1.33%, ASX 200 increased 0.47% and IDX Composite advanced 0.18%.
Thailand’s SET Index opened at 1,678.83 points, increased 2.03 points or 0.12%.
In the morning session on Monday, the International Benchmark Brent crude fell 2.84% to $117.22 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.15% to $110.31 per barrel. According to the report, Saudi’s Aramco facility in Jeddah suffered from a fire and explosion due to missile attacks, claimed by Yemen’s Houthi group.
China’s Shanghai City is under a partial lockdown after reporting more than 10,000 asymptomatic Covid-19 cases over the last 8 days. Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, Fengxian District, Jinshan District, Chongming District and Pujiang Town are among the first batch of areas to be locked down.
Mr. Ekpawin Suntarapichard, investment strategist of the Siam Commercial Bank Securities (SCBS), through “Kaohoon Jor Talad Program” on March 28, 2022, stated that the Thai stock market should move in similar trends on the previous week as external factors are not supporting the market enough for moving forward.
Meanwhile, the trends of policy rate hike by central banks and the ongoing war in Ukraine would continue to pressure the market.
As for mid and long-term investment, the strategist recommended buy-on-weakness at the index level below 1,650 points for major stocks. Meanwhile, speculative buyers need to be cautious on the 1,670 level. If the index edges lower, it could be the beginning of a profit taking, the strategist said.
