Thailand's new general election likely to boost stock market

BANGKOK, December 11 (TNA) - Kasikorn Securities Public Company Limited (KS) has assessed that the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index should become more bullish in the first quarter of next year, thanks to the positive prospect from the country's new general election and updates of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. KS Director Prakit Sirivattanaket voiced the assessment on Tuesday, saying that the SET index is likely to rise to reach the targeted 1,766 points in 2019, in the wake of the slow market condition late this year. Prakit, who is in charge of securities analysis, told journalists that he believed the SET index should rise by about 3 per cent on average some weeks before the new general election, which has been tentatively set on February 24, 2019. Besides, a positive trade agreement between the United States and China, expected by March 1, 2019, should stimulate the world trade, as well as Thai and other global stock markets. According to the KS executive,the appreciation of the Thai baht, expected by about 0.3 per cent some months before the new general election and Thailand's rising key interest rate and rising capital inflows should also boost the SET index. The KS executive, meanwhile, forecast that the Thai economy and exports should further expand moderately in 2019 by about 3.8 per cent year-on-year and 5.5 per cent year-on-year respectively, propelled by more foreign direct investment projects (FDI) and other positive impacts from the country's general election. However, the KS executive cautioned that a slowdown of the world economy, caused by negative impacts from the trade war between Washington and Beijing, may be a major risk factor of the growing Thai economy. (TNA)