MOMENTUM TEST AHEAD FOR IMPROVING SET

The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index has risen steadily over the past two months, gaining more than 200 points from its bottom of 1,054 on June 23. A number of supportive factors have come into play, among them:

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■ Easing short-term worries over US tariffs, now that Thailand has secured a rate of 19%, not much different from that of key competitors.

■Clearer direction on policy interest rate cuts.

■Easing tensions at the Thai-Cambodia border, though the situation has to be monitored closely.

■Not bad second-quarter earnings, with less than 25% of companies posting weaker-than-expected results — less than the average.

■Fewer cases of earnings downgrades, from 1-3% a month to less than 1%, reflecting that the downward revision cycle is ending. In fact, there seem to be signs of upward revisions in many more sectors.

■Market impact from rises in individual stocks, most notably DELTA and THAI.

The latter continued to soar after trade resumed on Aug 4, until its market capitalisation reached a peak on par with Singapore Airlines at close to 500 billion baht.