As expected, the Stock Exchange of Thailand performed well last month, bucking the historic "Sell in May" trend for stock markets, helped by early stirrings of hope for a peace agreement between the US and Iran.The SET index pushed above 1,500 points early in May and has largely stayed there, with big-cap Delta Electronics providing a lift on the back of positive sentiment about all things artificial intelligence (AI) on the tech-heavy Nasdaq in the US. The gains by DELTA lifted the entire electronics sector, making it the biggest outperformer in May.
First-quarter results were also encouraging, with 51% above expectations, 33% in line and only 16% below expectations. The 10-year US Treasury yield has increased to around 4.5%, signalling interest rates have bottomed out and the Federal Reserve could increase rates later this year.
The SET ended May at 1,568.37 points, an increase of 5% from April, while average daily turnover was up 13.1% to 66 billion baht. Hopes that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen have pushed oil prices back below $90 a barrel.
The SET reached 1,600 points for the first time this year in early June, helped by data showing Thai GDP growth was 2.8% for the first quarter, attributed to a gain of around 10% in both private and public investment, creating positive sentiment for foreign direct investment. We upgraded our GDP growth forecast for this year to 1.8% from 1.2%.
