The Thai market fell 10 points in early Friday trade as a broad sell-off on the energy sector fueled by concerns about tight demand after China imposed a new lockdown in one of its top digitized cities, Chengdu.
As of 10.56 a.m. Thai time, Thailand’s SET Index lost 10.36 points, or 0.64%, to 1,611.59, with a trading value of THB23,114 million.
The Chinese government issued on Thursday an order to lockdown Chengdu, a southwestern city, as it launched a 4-day citywide Covid-19 test, following a recent spike in cases.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and one of the largest cities in China, is home to over 21 million people. All residents were ordered to stay at home from 6:00 pm from Thursday (Sep 1), with households allowed to send one person a day to shop for necessities, the city government said in a statement.
Chengdu is the largest city to be shut down since Shanghai was closed for two months earlier this year. It was unclear whether the lockdown would be lifted when the major testing operation ended on Sunday.
Krungsri Securities expects the SET index to be range-bound at 1,610 – 1,630 today (Sep 2). sentiment could be dampened by fears aggressive rate hikes by the Fed and ECB to tame inflation could lead to a recession. Crude prices fell on demand worries after China locked down several cities to control the latest Covid-19 outbreaks. Foreign investors also turned net sellers of Thai shares but buying interest in stocks with specific catalysts could trigger an intraday rebound.
