Thai stocks unlikely to suffer from US shutdown

The US government shutdown is likely to have a minimal impact on the Thai stock market, which bounced back to surpass 1,300 points on Tuesday, unless the standoff in Washington is prolonged, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).

- NAREERAT WIRIYAPONG

Soraphol Tulayasathien, senior executive vice-president of SET, said US legislators have shut down the government multiple times in the past and typically the event was short-lived. On average, shutdowns last 1-2 weeks, with the longest one taking 35 days to be resolved.

Mr Soraphol said investors remain largely unfazed by the situation, as the US stock market has not declined significantly since the shutdown began on Oct 1.

"The shutdown is expected to have a limited impact on the SET index, unless the situation is prolonged, as investors largely perceive it as a temporary external factor that may create short-term volatility in capital flow," he told a briefing yesterday.