Asia Stocks Trade Higher as Analyst Expects SET to Gain Momentum with Limited Upside

Stocks in Asia traded higher on Tuesday morning as investors weighed on the release of a private survey of China’s manufacturing activity in November that rose to a decade high.

 

As of 9:31 local time in Thailand, Nikkei rose 1.45%, SSEC gained 0.35%, HSI increased 0.55%, ASX200 jumped 1.32% and Kospi advanced 1.05%.

 

An optimism in the stock market on Tuesday came after the report of the Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index in November at 54.9, which was the highest reading in a decade. Yesterday, the official manufacturing PMI for November came in at 52.1, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, also the highest reading in more than three years.

 

Yesterday, SET Index closed at 1,408.31 points, decreased 29.47 points or 2.05% with a trading value of 120 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market plunged in the same direction as regional markets prior to MSCI rebalance.

Moreover, domestic sentiment was weighed down from concerns of a resurgence of coronavirus that the carrier could be a super spreader. The analyst also suggested investors to monitor the judgement of the Constitutional Court regarding the Thai PM’s allegation of violating the law of using nursing homes beyond his availability.

The analyst stated that the market has a tendency to slightly recover in tomorrow’s session, but political issues would remain as negative factors, giving a support level at 1,405 points and a resistance level at 1,420-1,425 points.

 

CGS-CIMB Securities stated that the Thai stock market might be able to advance in today’s session, but with limited upside due to yesterday’s plummet over MSCI rebalancing, resulting in a net sell of over 4,000 million baht from foreign investors. Meanwhile, the Thai stock market has been outperforming recently, resulting in a profit-taking, coupled with concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in Chiang Mai.