Asia Stocks Trade Mostly Higher, Analyst Sees Moderate Gain in SET from External Factors

Stocks in Asia traded mostly higher on Thursday morning, pressured by the plummet in Wall Street last night, especially in tech stocks where Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.01%.

 

As of 9:20 local time in Thailand on March 25, 2021, Nikkei rose 0.44%, SSEC increased 0.09%, HSI dropped 0.19%, ASX 200 gained 0.17% and Kospi advanced 0.21%.

Over the night, Dow Jones closed slightly lower by 0.01%. S&P 500 slipped 0.55% and Nasdaq plunged 2.01%.

Yesterday, SET Index closed at 1,570.83 points, increased 6.58 points or 0.42% with a trading value of 85.4 billion baht.

Last night, Dow Jones Industrial Average traded mostly higher throughout the session, but slipped below the flat line in the final seconds of the trading session, dragged by a huge selloff in tech stocks.

 

KGI Securities stated that following a more resilient-than-expected session yesterday, the SET Index is poised for a moderate gain on Thursday due to a few positive factors from the external side. First, US oil prices rebounded 5.6% yesterday, as the Ever Given, a massive cargo ship has run aground in the Suez Canal, temporarily blocking shipment flows; note that this event is short-term. Second, the European macro outlook slightly improved after the Markit composite flash PMI returned to expansion phase for the first time in six months, while the Euro zone and UK unveiled their joint statement for better cooperation on the COVID-19 vaccine following the recent conflicts on how to ration the vaccine supply.

On the domestic side, Thai MPC yesterday, as widely expected, maintained policy interest rate at 0.50%. The committee also slightly cut its 2021 GDP forecast to 3.0%, from previous 3.2%, due mainly to its revision on 2021 tourist arrivals to 3mn (previous 5.5mn).