Thai shares edged up 0.1% on the last trading day of 2019, the benchmark index posting a 1% yearly rise as confidence was muted by the prolonged US-China trade dispute and sluggish economic growth at home and abroad.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index started the day with little change from Friday's close amid a holiday lull before ending at 1,579.84 in moderate trade worth 29.6 billion baht.
In 2018, the SET index finished the last trading day at 1,563.88 points, marking a full-year decline of 10.8%.
The SET's market capitalisation in 2019 rose by 4.8% to 16.75 trillion baht from 16 trillion baht logged a year earlier.
Average daily turnover in 2019 was 52.5 billion baht, down 7% from 56.4 billion baht in 2018, according to SET data.
Foreign investors were the largest net sellers of local shares in 2019 at 45.2 billion baht, down from 2018's net sales of 287.5 billion baht.
Retail investors were also net sellers of 21.64 billion baht this year, versus net buying of 118 billion baht in 2018.
Brokers' proprietary trading cashed out a net 14.87 billion baht, compared with net sales of 15.3 billion baht last year. Institutional investors were net buyers of shares worth 52 billion baht this year, down from net purchasing valued at 184 billion baht in 2018.
The SET's dividend yield was 3.14%, down from 3.22% in 2018. The market's price-to-earnings ratio stood at 19.4 at year-end 2019, compared with 14.75 a year earlier.
Newly listed companies totalled 13 on the SET and 17 on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). In 2018, eight companies listed on the SET and 11 on the second-tier exchange.
Total companies listed on the SET rose to 556 at the end of 2019 from 545 a year earlier, while those on the MAI increased to 169 from 159.
The MAI index closed 2019 at 309.64 points, down 13.1% from 356.44 at the end of 2018, with average daily turnover sliding 42.7% to 724 million baht from 1.26 billion baht in the previous year.
Online trading value for the SET and the MAI combined rose to 556.2 billion baht as of Nov 29 from 377.7 billion baht in 2018. In terms of ratio, internet trading edged up to 25.1% of total trading value as of Nov 29 from 31% in 2017.
Market cap generated from allocating initial public offering (IPO) shares to the general public rose considerably to 383.7 billion baht, up from last year's tally of 183 billion baht.
The number of listed securities this year was 34, up from 23 in 2018. Of the 34 securities, 30 were listed companies, three were real estate investment trusts and one was an infrastructure fund.