The Baht weakened while the SET tumbled at the end of the week amid expectations that the Fed is in no rush to cut rates

• The Thai stock market tumbled at the end of the week in line with other regional bourses amid concerns that the Fed would hold rates high for longer.  

The SET dropped slightly early in the week in line with other regional stock markets as investors took a cautious stance while awaiting the US inflation data for February. However, the SET rebounded around midweek, boosted by foreign investors’ net buying orders, especially for finance sand energy stocks (which were supported by the rising global oil prices). The SET tumbled again at the end of the week in line with other regional stock markets, after the US PPI in February came out higher than analysts' expectations, which caused the market to worry that the Fed would hold rates high for a longer period.
On Friday, March 15, 2024, the SET closed at 1,386.04 points, down 0.03% over-week. The average daily trading value was THB42,227.35 million, up 5.16% over-week. The mai closed at 418.76 points, up 2.10% over-week.

• March 18-22, 2024, KSecurities expects the SET to have support at 1,375 and 1,365 points, but resistance at 1,400 and 1,415 points, respectively. KResearch views that key matter to watch include the upcoming FOMC meeting (March 19-20) and foreign fund flows. The US economic data that warrant close monitoring include February Housing Starts and Existing Home Sales, March Manufacturing and Services PMI (Flash), plus Weekly Jobless Claims. Close attention must also be paid to the upcoming BOJ meeting, March Manufacturing and Services PMI (Flash) of Eurozone, UK and Japan, plus China’s March LPR and economic data for January-February such as Retails Sales and Industrial Production.