The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index took a steep plunge on Friday as brewing Sino-US trade tensions and several explosions around Bangkok derailed investment appetite.
The SET index ended at 1,684.71, down 15.04 points or 0.88%, in turnover worth 82 billion baht. The benchmark gauge was down nearly 28 points at one point during the day.
Rising tensions surrounding the US-China trade dispute have sent global stock markets into the red, said SET president Pakorn Peetathawatchai.
“Trade tensions are the core negative factor pressuring market sentiment,” Mr Pakorn said. “The interest rate cut [by the US Federal Reserve] and the trade war are affecting the real sector.”
A series of explosions that rocked Bangkok earlier on Friday also took a toll on short-term investment sentiment, he said.
Investors should take this opportunity to accumulate stocks with good fundamentals and investment in long-term mutual funds, Mr Pakorn said.
The SET index’s plunge pales next to the 2.1% decline of Japan’s Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng index’s 2.4% drop.
Trinity Securities executive director Nuttachart Mekmasin said the stock market’s correction is mainly driven by external factors, rather than the Bangkok explosions, which are considered “noise” affecting only a handful of business segments.
