Stock Players Await Q3 Bank Earnings, Interest Rate Directions

[george]

Stock players await 3Q bank earnings, interest rate directions

BANGKOK: -- Investors on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will this week await the outcome of a meeting of the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) Monetary Policy Committee on local interest rate, third quarter earnings projections of commercial banks and the new consumer confidence index before entering the market, according to a report issued by the respected Kasikorn Research Center think tank.

The Monetary Policy Committee will confer regarding the interest rate on Wednesday while the September consumer confidence index data is to be released the following day, the report said.

External factors which are believed to have an influence on SET investors include the US non-farm employment figures and movements of global oil prices, it said.

On Friday, the SET composite index closed at 852.33 points, up from 845.50 points a week ago.

Kasikorn Research Center projects that the support level for the SET index this week would be around 843-847 points and resistance at 870-880 points.

The report said the Thai currency, the baht, is projected to move within the range of Bt34.10-34.40 against the dollar this week as traders await fresh factors to stimulate investment.

Traders are expected to await the outcome of the central bank meeting on interest rate, directions of the dollar and key US economic indicators, it said.

The baht late on Friday closed at around Bt34.20-34.24 against the greenback onshore compared to Bt34.23-34.26 on Thursday.

--TNA 2007-10-07