The Baht hit a 1-month low while the SET rose over-week

        The Thai stock market closed near last week’s level. The SET dropped early in the week due to the sell-offs of foreign and institutional investors in line with other stock markets as China’s exports fell more than expected in July 2023. However, the SET gradually rebounded during the rest of the week in response to the news regarding the formation of a new government (though such issue should be continuously and closely monitored). Gains were capped at the end of the week as some investors were in a wait-and-see mode before a long holiday for the domestic market. Finance, banking and energy stocks (boosted by the rising global oil prices during the week) outperformed other stocks  this week.      
        On Friday, August 11, 2023, the SET closed at 1,535.16 points, up 0.31% over-week. The average daily trading value was THB51,448.87 million, down 0.62% over-week. The mai closed at 459.80 points, down 0.33% over-week.
        August 15-18, 2023, KSecurities expects the SET to have support at 1,520 and 1,505 points, but resistance at 1,560 and 1,580 points, respectively. KResearch views that key matters to watch include domestic political issues and foreign fund flows. The US economic data that warrant close monitoring include July Retail Sales, New Home Sales, Industrial Production, FOMC minutes for July 25-26 meeting, plus Weekly Jobless Claims. Close attention must also be paid to GDP report for 2Q2023 and July CPI of Japan and Eurozone, plus China’s July economic data such as Retail Sales, Industrial Production and Fixed Asset Investment.