SET drifts as global stocks rise on Greek relief

SET drifts as global stocks rise on Greek relief

Exports a ray of hope for an otherwise gloomy local automobile industry.
Exports a ray of hope for an otherwise gloomy local automobile industry.

Recap: Greece's bailout extension propelled global stock markets, with some hitting multi-year records. However, investors in the Thai stock market shrugged off the positive news and jumped on the sell-off bandwagon on disappointing earnings.

The SET Index last week moved in a range of 1,566.96 and 1,610.24 points, and closed at 1,587.01, down 1% from the previous week, with heavy turnover averaging 61.47 billion baht a day.

Foreign investors were net sellers of 9.5 billion baht. Institutional investors sold 2.7 billion baht and brokers 2.1 billion. Retail investors were net buyers of 14.3 billion baht.

Big movers: Two stocks made their SET debuts. The natural gas service provider SCN surged 148% from its 5-baht IPO price on Monday to 12.40 baht, and the motorcycle lender S11 hit the 200% ceiling to 15.90 baht from its 5.30-baht offering price on Wednesday.

Top loser MAX tumbled 40% to 0.36 baht and top gainer CWT rose 86% to 6.80 baht. NPARK led in volume, unchanged at 0.05 baht. Tops in value, excluding the two newly listed stocks, were TRUE, gaining 8.2% to 14.60 baht; JAS, adding 5.99% to 8.85 baht; and ADVANC, falling 2.1% to 233 baht.

Newsmakers: German lawmakers approved the four-month bailout extension for Greece, paving the way for talks about a longer-term debt solution.

Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said the US economy was making steady progress but the Fed would remain patient about raising interest rates because too many Americans are still unemployed, wage growth remains sluggish and inflation is too low. Her testimony supports analysts' view that a rate hike is not likely before June or even later this year.

Chinese factory activity expanded in February, snapping two consecutive months of contraction. HSBC said its preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) reached a four-month high of 50.1, up from 49.7 in January.

Thailand's exports remained in the doldrums in January, falling by the biggest margin in five months. The Commerce Ministry said dollar value contracted by 3.46% to $17.2 billion, the biggest fall since last August.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered a three-month delay to a new round of bidding for oil and gas exploration concessions until related laws have been amended. Applications had been due on Feb 18 but the deadline was extended to March 16 as opponents of the concession system said the country would get a better deal by adopting production-sharing contracts. The new deadline is likely to be around mid-June.

The government insists fourth-generation (4G) spectrum auctions will take place before September in order to accelerate development of the digital economy.

The financial woes of Thai Airways International (THAI) continued, as it reported a full-year loss to 15.6 billion baht, despite a foreign-exchange gain of 12.6 billion. THAI blamed the downturn in foreign arrivals caused by political unrest for its poor performance.

Tourist arrivals in Thailand are expected to see double-digit growth this year after falling 6.66% last year, says the Fiscal Policy Office.

Local car sales in January dropped by 12.9% year-on-year and 33.3% from the previous month. However, car exports rose by 14.1% year-on-year to 92,440 vehicles, said the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). Export value was 41.2 billion baht, up 10% year-on-year.

CP All Plc has earmarked 14 billion baht to expand its retail operations this year, with 9 billion for 7-Eleven convenience store expansion and the remaining 5 billion to expand outlets of subsidiary Siam Makro Plc.

Bangchak Petroleum Plc (BCP) has earmarked 90 billion baht for capital expenditure in its six-year business plan starting this year. The bulk of the investment will be for exploration and production to extend its business to upstream petroleum.

Banpu Plc, a coal-mining and power-generation group, plans to expand its power business as strong energy demand in the region provides more opportunities.

The first seven non-bank financial institutions have submitted their applications to the Bank of Thailand for nanofinance licences.

The Government Pension Fund sold its 880 million shares of IRPC or 4.31% through big-lot trades in a deal worth 3.67 billion baht.

Thai Union Frozen Products (TUF) will raise funds through a new share issue totalling $400 million. Proceeds will be used to finance its purchase of California-based Bumble Bee Foods in a deal worth $1.5 billion.

Coming up this week: Inflation figures for Thailand and the euro zone for February are due today.

The HSBC China Composite PMI, euro zone Markit Manufacturing PMI and US private-sector employment data will be released on Wednesday.

Thailand will announce its consumer confidence index on Thursday. The European Central Bank will meet the same day. The US will announce non-farm employment data on Friday.

Stocks to watch: Asia Plus Group Holdings Securities recommends buying high-dividend stocks to mitigate risk amid high volatility. Its picks are SPALI and TVO. Bualuang Securities recommends SPALI, ANAN, PLANB, SC,TK, CBG, AP and ERW.

Technical view: Asia Plus sees support at 1,580 points and resistance at 1,620. Bualuang Securities puts support at 1,590 and resistance at 1,610.

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