A panic-selling spree ignited by mounting coronavirus infections across the globe caused another free fall for Thailand's stock market, prompting consultants to urge the Finance Ministry to rethink expired tax deduction privileges for long-term equity funds (LTFs) and help stabilise market conditions.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index on Friday tumbled 54.56 points or 3.9% to close at 1,340.52 in trade worth 86.5 billion baht.
The latest sell-off capped three alternating days of losses this week, with the benchmark equity index eventually dipping below 1,350 points as sentiment turned anaemic.
This week's plunge has pushed the equity benchmarks of Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines into the ranks of the world's 10 worst-performing major markets this year, according to Bloomberg.
New infections continue to appear outside of China, with Italy, Iran and Kuwait reporting more infections. Nigeria has also confirmed its first case, the first reported in sub-Saharan Africa.
"There are widespread concerns over new reports of patients who recovered from the disease testing positive again in Japan," said Sorrabhol Virameteekul, senior vice-president of Kasikorn Securities. "Investors are in wait-and-see mode regarding whether the US can mitigate the epidemic. If US infections rise quickly, investment sentiment will be dented. The impact of this will ripple across the global economy and stock markets worldwide."
Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations, said the Finance Ministry should consider renewing the expired tax deduction privileges for LTFs to mitigate panic-selling.
