SET hits 18-year high | Bangkok Post: news

News > Local News

Stock Exchange index hits 18-year high

Published: 13 Feb 2013 at 19.09
Online news: Local News

Thai stocks surged Wednesday, driving the Stock Exchange of Thailand's benchmark index to its highest level since November, 1994.

It has been a tough ride for the SET in the last few years, as the index dropped to nearly 600 before rising to Wednesday's highest point in more than 18 years.

The SET Index climbed 1.7 per cent to 1,514.11 at the close in Bangkok. PTT Pcl shares rose four per cent, the most since November, 2011, as crude oil traded near a one-week high. Bangkok Bank Pcl jumped 3.4 per cent, the biggest increase since Jan 28.

This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.

Most Viewed

Karun-Tankhun confrontation (video)

A video clip of former Pheu Thai MP Karun Hosakul exchanging heated words with his former election rival Tankhun Jitt-itsara of the opposition Democrat Party has gone viral.

Forum

Your comments

DonAleman
Post : 532
Send message

Discussion 9 : 15 Feb 2013 at 18.219
Post this to my Facebook
Anyone notice that the icon at the beginning of this announcement resembles increasingly larger DOMINOES which, when one falls .............
Like dislike 0 people liked / 0 people disliked this comment
3rivers
Post : 84
Send message

Discussion 8 : 14 Feb 2013 at 10.358
Post this to my Facebook
Mutley, Mr. Soros went along for the ride because he understood the politics inviolved. He may have had a tiny part in setting the ball rolling, but the ball was and is still much bigger than Mr. Sorors or anyone else, including governments and central banks. Only on a very short term basis can ANYONE, even a central bank, play games with global markets.
Like dislike 1 people liked / 1 people disliked this comment
mutley
Post : 182
Send message

Discussion 7 : 14 Feb 2013 at 09.017
Post this to my Facebook
Wrong Disc. 6, it's extremely easy for some people. Look at what George Soros did to UK in the early 1990s when the interest rate climbed to 25% overnight. If he could do that to UK, he could certainly do it to Thailand. It only takes one influential person with lots of money to start the ball rolling.
Like dislike 3 people liked / 4 people disliked this comment
onlyasking
Post : 453
Send message

Discussion 6 : 14 Feb 2013 at 08.406
Post this to my Facebook
D1 - The exchange rate is determined by the market and the market consist of many people buying and selling money. If the demand for the Baht increase the Baht becomes stronger. It's extremely difficult for one person to manipulate exchange rates. At the moment money is flowing into Thailand because people can get better returns here than in the EU and the US. But this is short term money and can leave Thailand over night that why the government are concerned about these inflows.
Like dislike 4 people liked / 0 people disliked this comment
whatajoke
Post : 1,748
Send message

Discussion 5 : 14 Feb 2013 at 08.035
Post this to my Facebook
We're heading for a fall this year me-thinks, there are just too many uncertain, risky, or crack pot populist things, any one of which could trigger a panic and capital flight, leading to sudden
'correction'. Who knows when but the more all these various elements come together in a perfect storm the more traumatic it's going to be. Our lady PM isn't experienced enough to take control of the situation, and it's going to be difficult to strategically manage; hour-by-hour using Skype. We've set ourselves up for a tricky situation.
Like dislike 0 people liked / 4 people disliked this comment
3rivers
Post : 84
Send message

Discussion 4 : 14 Feb 2013 at 06.174
Post this to my Facebook
What we all call foreign flows does not refer to the actual owners of those flows, it only means that the originating broker or bank was overseas. The identity of the beneficial security holder is never revealed to anyone and nominees are always used 100% of the time without anyones even asking. The idea is that it is very difficult to travel outside Thailand with money. If that idea sounds ridiculous then I agree with you. Thaioland is not a poor country. The wealth is just a bit concentrated but it is there. There are reasons to bring some capital home, we are in a transition phase from West to East, i.e. ASEAN and AEC integration.
Like dislike 3 people liked / 0 people disliked this comment
spiceman
Post : 3,475
Send message

Discussion 3 : 14 Feb 2013 at 05.323
Post this to my Facebook
As usual, Obama opens his big mouth and investors flee, and Thailand increasingly seems to be one of the safe harbors for now.
Like dislike 9 people liked / 3 people disliked this comment
bucktoui
Post : 82
Send message

Discussion 2 : 14 Feb 2013 at 00.062
Post this to my Facebook
dearheart: I think USA and Thailand are the Odd Twin like Danny DeVito and Arnold Governator. The Red and Blue (yellow), the economy, the Chaos, gang and gun, immigration, prostitution, religion back by money crazy and so on. The only thing that USA is not look alike Thailand is Coup D'etat (or revolution in Thai term). I am not surprise these things and investment in Thailand will go on forever and will be more as ASEAN is coming. As long as capitalist control the world the Wheel of Fortune of things will be concentrate in Thailand(Center of Asia) and USA (America) I think Australia will be the third twin.
Like dislike 2 people liked / 2 people disliked this comment
dearheart
Post : 29
Send message

Discussion 1 : 13 Feb 2013 at 20.551
Post this to my Facebook
I can't imagine people would invest money in Thailand - evidently the incredible number of military coups here are blown off. Foreign speculators must somehow see Thailand as a bastion of stability - why else would these fools so willingly sink their cash into a cesspool of corruption? How do we know if the SET's figures are accurate? Answer - we don't. The Bot says the baht is 28.9 - how do we know this is true? Answer - we don't. They can announce any exchange rate that suits them - 20, 25, 30, 35 or whatever - the baht is only what they say it is. If exports go under, so what - the world's oldest profession will carry the day.
Like dislike 19 people liked / 7 people disliked this comment