The Baht was volatile while the SET rose over-week

​        The Thai stock market gradually rose after falling for 6 consecutive weeks. The SET dropped briefly early in the week before gradually surging during the rest of the week, as the Fed announced interest rate hike of 25 basis points as market anticipated and signaled an end to rate hikes. The Thai bourse was also supported by attempts of the U.S. and Switzerland authorities to solve the banking crisis, plus the official announcement of the general election date by the Election Commission. Those factors boosted the purchase of stocks across all sectors. Energy stocks made the biggest gains due to the additional support from rising global oil prices on the possibility that OPEC will cut its oil production. However, the SET declined slightly at the end of the week in line with other regional stock markets.      
        On Friday, March 24, 2023, the SET closed at 1,591.85 points, up 1.80% over-week. The average daily trading value was THB52,334.72 million, down 33.99% over-week. The mai closed at 534.56 points, down 0.69% over-week.
        March 27-31, 2023, KSecurities expects the SET to have support at 1,580 and 1,570 points, but resistance at 1,600 and 1,615 points, respectively. KResearch views that key matters to watch include the upcoming MPC meeting (March 29), Thailand’s February Exports and foreign fund flows. The US economic data that warrant close monitoring include February Personal Income and Outlays, PCE/Core PCE Price Index, GDP report for 4Q2022 (Final), weekly jobless claims. Close attention must also be paid to China’s February Industrial Profits and March PMI, plus Eurozone’s March Inflation (Flash).