Average daily trade volume on the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) rose significantly last month, in line with an uptick in the Thai bourse and rising investor confidence, says the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
Mr Pakorn says there is a speculative market outlook.
Trading of futures contracts in September averaged 504,362 on a daily basis, up 88.5% month-on-month, with most trading seen on the SET50 Index Futures and Single Stock Futures, said Pakorn Peetathawatchai, SET senior executive vice-president.
"This shows confidence in investment, which tracks increases in the investor sentiment index [ISI]," said Mr Pakorn.
Active futures trading is one indicator suggesting buoyant investor confidence and a speculative outlook in the stock market, he said.
TFEX's total trade volume was 10.6 million contracts last month. Average daily trade volume in the first nine months totalled 301,051 contracts, up 5.6% year-on-year.
The ISI stood at 37.81 in August, registering a 10-month high and suggesting investor sentiment has normalised following prolonged negative sentiment recorded since late last year, according to the SET. A range of 30-70 suggests investor sentiment is normal.
Bannarong Pichyakorn, managing director of sales and trading business at Bualuang Securities Plc, said TFEX trading in September reached an all-time high because of positive market sentiment based on Thailand's economic recovery momentum and good earnings growth among listed companies.
He said most trading on the TFEX is done through the block trade system, which favours current developments to efficiently make high profits with small investment sums.
In related news, Maybank Kim Eng Securities Thailand (MBKEST) expects the stock market in the final quarter to move sideways along with resistance level of 1,700 points and 1,640 points for support level.
Supporting factors for this forecast include the global economic recovery, which induces positive investment sentiment towards emerging markets, together with low inflation and the low US interest rate directing fund flows toward emerging markets, said managing director Sukit Udomsirikul.
Domestic factors are also lending support to an upbeat market outlook, with buoyant tourist arrivals, robust export growth, and a pickup in both consumer confidence and the manufacturing production index, said Mr Sukit.
He said accumulating domestic equities in sectors such as food and hospitality may be benefiting from tourism and consumption growth.
The stock market in the final quarter of every year is also supported by investment in long-term funds and retirement mutual funds, which can be used to deduct personal income taxes, said Mr Sukit.
Although the stock market could experience short-term corrections if the baht depreciates, such corrections are not expected to be significant as Thailand's economic fundamentals remain strong, he said.
MBKEST projects an SET index target of 1,717 points over the next 12 months and 1,760 points at year-end 2018 based on the assumption that the US Federal Reserve will normalise interest rates in line with market expectations.
The firm's SET index target is based on a price-to-earnings ratio of 16 times, with earnings-per-share expected at 107 baht over the next 12 months and 110 baht for 2018.
The SET index, meanwhile, reached its highest level at 1,673.16 points in September, up 3.5% month-on-month and 8.4% from the end of last year, with foreign investors buying equities worth 6.6 billion baht.
Daily average trading volume on the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment index in September were worth a combined 62.19 billion baht, up 7.5% year-on-year.
Daily average trading volume for the two bourses in the first nine months was 47.4 billion baht, down 8.2% year-on-year.