The Thai stock market saw a limited drop on Thursday despite witnessing much higher-than-expected reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. President Donald Trump.
As of 11:02 BKK time on Thursday, the SET Index fell 13.34 points or 1.14% to 1,159.35 points. Meanwhile, other markets are recovering from earlier losses as South Korea’s Kospi Index was 1.11% lower, compared to a drop of more than 3% at the open. Shanghai Composite saw less impact with 0.51% decrease.
Japan is the only country in the major markets this morning that remained in a deep contraction, dropping by more than 3%. The Vietnam index witnessed a 6% drop today.
Koraphat Vorachet, Division Head of Research at Krungsri Securities (KSS), remarked that the recently imposed 36% reciprocal tariffs on Thai products exceed his projection significantly. Nonetheless, he reassured investors that there is no need for alarm, as these tariffs represent a global phenomenon, affecting various countries to different extents.
He further highlighted that the Thai stock market is presently trading at a considerable discount, which should help mitigate the impact on the nation’s capital market compared to others.
Koraphat advised investors to temporarily hold back from engaging with export-driven stocks, especially those in the pet food sector. He also mentioned that electronics components and semiconductor industries are likely to be affected, suggesting a cautious approach, even though these sectors have recently seen a price reduction.
In light of the current market volatility, Koraphat anticipates the announcement of financial and monetary policies designed to bolster Thailand’s economy. He suggested focusing on overlooked financial stocks, based on his confident prediction that interest rates would be reduced more swiftly than previously anticipated.
Additionally, Koraphat pointed out that the mid-term government bond yield that is trending downward and widening a gap from policy rates is an indicator for near-term rate cuts.
