The investor confidence index for the next three months through December remains in a neutral territory as geopolitical conflicts and lower-than-expected earnings of SET-listed companies continue to keep confidence at bay.
The investor confidence index (ICI) stands at 111.62, up 8.64% from September’s 102.74, according to a monthly survey by the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations (Fetco).
An index below 80 points is considered bearish, 80-120 is neutral and over 120 is bullish.
For the ICIs for each investor group, proprietary traders' ICI stands at 114.29, but still remains in the neutral zone. Confidence of local institutional investors and retail investors is registered at 111.11 and 98.39, respectively.
Foreign investors’ ICI is logged at 125, the only group whose confidence is in the bullish territory.
Concerns about international geopolitical conflicts, regional economic conditions, and below-than-expected performance of SET-listed companies are factors dragging down investor confidence, said Fetco chairman Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn.
Investors view that government policies as the main factor lending a boost of confidence, followed by domestic economic conditions and international capital flows, said Mr Paiboon.
Energy and utilities together with tourism and leisure sectors are the most attractive for investment, while steel, media and publishing, as well as petrochemicals and chemicals, are the leastfavourable, according to Fetco.
In September, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index experienced stable movement in a slightly downward direction following the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy easing.