The Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations' (Fetco) Investor Confidence Index (ICI) cooled down to the neutral zone last month from very bullish in October, as international conflicts and the local economic slowdown undermined confidence.
Fetco chairman Kobsak Pootrakool said the November index, which anticipates market conditions over the next three months, is in the neutral zone at 118.28.
In terms of investor categories, the ICI of retail, proprietary and institutional investors was neutral, while the confidence of foreign investors was in the bullish zone.
Conducted from Nov 20-30, the survey's results were supported by the government's stimulus package and the tourism recovery. Meanwhile, international conflicts, the local economic slowdown and inflation weighed on sentiment, he said.
"The results for November show confidence retreating for investors of all types," said Mr Kobsak, adding the foreign investor index fell the most -- by 40% to 90.
The ICI of retail investors was down 26.8% to 101.54, while the index for proprietary and institutional as well as foreign investors declined by 15.6% and 25.9%, respectively, to 118.18 and 133.33.
The most attractive sector on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in November was tourism and leisure, while automotive was least attractive to investors.
In the first half of November, the SET index increased mildly, driven by better than expected earnings of listed companies in several sectors.
"However, the benchmark retreated after Donald Trump won the US presidential election. His pro-US stock policy triggered fund outflows from emerging markets, including Thailand," he said.
The Federal Reserve's slowing pace of policy rate cuts also dampened sentiment.
At the end of November, the Thai index closed at 1,427.54 points, down 2.6% from the previous month with an average daily trading value of 44.3 billion baht. Foreign investors were net sellers of 13.6 billion baht during the month, bringing their net selling to 136 billion baht year-to-date.
Mr Kobsak said external factors to monitor include US import tariffs after Trump is inaugurated on Jan 20 and the Fed's policy rate direction after inflation eased, though it still remains outside the regulator's inflation target of 2%. The re-emergence of Russia-Ukraine tensions is another factor to watch, he said.
Locally, analysts are monitoring the pace of economic recovery, which is expected to be helped by tourism, phase 2 of the government's digital wallet scheme and debt relief plans.
The typical year-end buying spree of tax-saving funds, comprising retirement mutual funds, super savings funds and Thai ESG funds, should also shape sentiment, said Mr Kobsak.