Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations (FETCO), commented on the November 2018 FETCO Investor Confidence Index (ICI)

The SET Index fell in October on the back of a downward trend in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which dropped 10%.  Investors also worried about the impact of the US interest rate hikes and 10-year bond yields rising above 3%.  Investors kept a wary eye on the US president’s inclination to pursue higher US import tariffs.  The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell to a low of 1596 before recovering to 1630–1640 at the end of the month.

“For investment trends over the next three months, the survey indicates that investor confidence is buoyed by listed company performance and Thai economic growth, with the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) projecting GDP remaining at 4.5%, despite a 5.2% drop in September exports.  Meanwhile, investors continue to closely monitor the progress of trade negotiations between the US and China.  Another important consideration is the state of China’s economy as the Chinese government has gradually released economic stimulus policies such as reducing personal income taxes and implementing measures to support stocks of the Securities Association of China (SAC).  Also, with regard to Europe’s economy, the European Commission has rejected the draft of the Italian government’s budget.  Finally, oil prices have fallen despite sanctions imposed on Iran by the US, and this will limit Iran’s crude oil exports to the global oil market.