The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index at end-September closed at 1,237.04 points or 5.6  percent lower than the previous month as several factors, including slower-than-expected COVID-19 vaccine development, concerns on global economic recovery delays and local political uncertainty, weighed on investors' sentiment. SET Index fell 21.7 percent from end-2019, but still fared than MSCI ASEAN which shrank 24.7 percent.

SET Senior Executive Vice President Soraphol Tulayasathien said that the SET Index was slightly down in September with Consumer Products, Agro & Food industry, Technology, Services and Industrials industry groups outperforming the benchmark index. Positive trends were evident in Electronic Components, Agribusiness, and Personal Products and Pharmaceuticals sectors, especially securities in Non-SET100 and mai. SET and mai combined average daily trading value in September was THB 47.9 billion. During the first 9 months of 2020, the average daily trading value amounted to THB 64.53 billion, or a 19.5 percent increase from the same period last year.

Local retail investors continued to dominate stock trading value for seven consecutive months in September, accounting for 43.51 percent of total trading value for the first 9 months of this year. For the Jan-Sep period, foreign investors cashed out a net THB 276 billion while other types of investors were net buyers.

The Thai capital market’s IPO launch momentum continued in September with the listing of Successmore Being Plc. Thailand was ASEAN’s largest IPO market for the first nine months of 2020.

Key highlights for September

• SET Index ended September at 1,237.04 points, a 5.6 percent drop from the preceding month and a 21.7 percent fall from end-2019. However, the Index outperformed MSCI ASEAN, which decreased   24.7 percent from the end of last year. 
• Consumer Products, Agro & Food Industry, Technology, Services and Industrials industry groups’ indices outpaced the SET Index with positive recovery signs seen in Electronic Components, Agribusiness, and Personal Products and Pharmaceuticals sectors, especially the securities in Non-SET100 and mai. 
• The average daily trading value of SET and mai in September amounted to THB 47.9 billion. During the first 9 months of this year, the average daily trading value rose 19.5 percent from a year earlier to THB 64.53 billion.
• Local retail investors in September continued to dominate stock trading value for the seventh consecutive month. For Jan-Sep period, their dominance recorded 43.51 percent.
• IPO launch activities continued in September with Successmore Being Plc being listed on SET. For the first 9 months, total fundraising via IPO to list on the Thai bourse was highest among ASEAN exchanges.  
• Forward and historical P/E ratios of SET were 21.4 times and 20.7 times respectively at end-September, greater than the average ratio of Asian markets at 16.7 times and 18.1 times respectively.                                    
• Dividend yield ratio of SET was 3.56 percent at end-September, above Asian stock markets' average ratio of 2.83 percent. 

Derivatives market

• In September, the derivatives trading volume averaged 432,512 contracts per day, up 16.9 percent from the previous month, mainly driven by trading in SET50 Index Futures and Single Stock Futures. During the first 9 months of 2020, the average daily trading volume amounted to 466,117 contracts, a 10.7 percent rise from the same period a year earlier as a result of higher trading volume of SET50 Index Futures and Gold Online Futures.