Thai stocks again slipped to close the market yesterday below the 1,500-point mark on profit taking to mitigate risks ahead of the long New Year holiday, while the stock market looks set to remain volatile next year amid an expected mixed global economic rebound.
The SET index swung wildly throughout yesterday before closing 0.81% lower at 1,498.22 points as investors cashed in profits spotted in the final hour. Turnover was anaemic at 23.11 billion baht.
Thamrongchai: SET to move sideways
A selling spree by retail investors was blamed for the fall as foreign investors and institutional investors were on holiday, said Kitpon Pripisankit, an analyst at Kasikorn Securities.
There was a dearth of fresh catalysts to shore up the stock market, he said.
The equity market's volatility will remain high in 2015, while the euro zone and Japan printing more money will offset the US Federal Reserve tapering its quantitative easing, said Wiwat Techapoonpol, deputy managing director of Tisco Securities.
The European Central Bank is expected to pump up to €1 trillion (40 trillion baht) into the common economic bloc's system, up from €400 billion, while Japan has raised its annual target for enlarging its monetary base to ¥80 trillion (22 trillion baht), up from ¥60-70 trillion.
"We expect liquidity in stock markets will remain unchanged, but volatility will continue. Investment in equities carries higher risks in 2015," said Mr Wiwat.
Telecommunications, exports and food are among Thai stocks with strong growth potential in 2015, he said.
Sukit Undomsirikul, managing director of Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand), said the trends of oil prices and interest rates would be the major factors to determine the Thai stock market's movement next year.
"The stock market is upside biased, but with high volatility in the first half next year. The SET index is expected to hit 1,640 points some time next year," he said.
Thamrongchai Eakamornwong, a deep-pocketed investor, said the SET index next year would move marginally sideways, so selective investment is the strategy with a focus on small and mid-cap stocks.
The SET's trading alert measures, effective from Jan 5, to curb stock speculation will hurt market sentiment as brokerage houses are prohibited from providing margin loans to buy stocks on the list. Moreover, such stocks will be barred from net settlement.
Mr Thamrongchai said large cap stocks' trading remained anaemic due to the volatile oil price and global uncertainties.