Analysts say the baht is strengthening, coupled with foreign investors returning to invest, and the Vayuphak Fund’s ‘oversubscription’ has resulted in the Thai stock index continuing to rebound.
SET closed this morning at 1,451.78 points, up 0.09 points (+0.01%) with a trading value of 24,046 million baht. Mr. Wikit Thirawanrat, Director of Retail Research, Bualuang Securities, revealed that during this period, the baht strengthened to 32.93 baht/US dollar, which is still manageable. This is in the same direction as the currencies of other countries in this region. However, Thailand’s may strengthen slightly more, due to the US Federal Reserve (Fed) reducing interest rates by as much as 0.5%, resulting in a narrower difference between Thailand and the US interest rates. This has led to foreign money flowing into Thailand, which has had a positive effect on the Thai stock market. In addition, the Vayuphak Fund 1 has been well-received with bookings exceeding the target. They are preparing to gradually invest next week, so it is expected that the Thai stock index will continue to accelerate.
‘The strengthening of the baht is considered to be within the government’s control because after this, the government’s various policies will require a large amount of money. Recently, there has been news that the issuance of bonds in foreign currencies in early 2025 will greatly help manage exchange rate risk. The government also has a plan to establish a universal tax system, using negative income tax to bring all income earners into the tax system, whether they meet the tax threshold or not. Everyone will have to enter the tax system. In the next 2-3 years, the government will have a clearer source of income and will be able to increase the country’s economic figures,’ said Mr. Wichian.
Mr. Apichat Phubanjerdkul, CISA, Senior Director of Strategic Analysis, TISCO Securities, said that it is also expected that the strong baht will support the continuous inflow of foreign capital (Fund Flow). Meanwhile, the sale of Type A investment units of Vayuphak Mutual Fund 1 or VAYU1 Fund has attracted a large number of investors interested in subscribing, totaling 190 billion baht, exceeding the fundraising target of 150 billion baht. It is expected to have a positive effect on the market in early October. Investors are advised to monitor the release of preliminary manufacturing and service sector figures for September (PMI) from both Europe and the United States, which are important figures used to measure the strength of the economy.
Source: Thai News Agency