29.04.09 Swine flu undermines investment sentiment: Bourse chief
Source: TNA
BANGKOK, April 29 (TNA) – Mounting concerns over the outbreak of
swine flu in Mexico have undermined investment sentiment in Thailand’s
stock market, but the impact is not as severe as that of the earlier
threats of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bird flu,
according to Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) president Patareeya
Benjapolchai.
She said the SET is assessing how the influenza outbreak in Mexico
and some states in the United States would affect investment in the
stock market.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 2.27
points to close at 472.72 points on Tuesday. Dealers said investors
feared the effects of swine flu on tourism and airlines.
The SET president said she believed the swine flu outbreak would not
have an adverse impact should it be brought under control quickly.
Currently, many countries around the world have attempted to contain
the swine flu virus to ensure it does not spread extensively.
Mrs. Patareeya said that the swine influenza outbreak had impacted
the prices of stocks in the aviation and tourism sectors because people
around the world had slowed spending and reduced travel.
“We monitored stock movements in the US bourse last night and found
stock prices in the aviation and tourism industries had dropped in the
initial trading period, but recouped the loss later.
“So, we believe the impact is not severe, but we need to monitor how
quickly the swine flu virus is brought under control,” she said.
The SET chief said the investment sentiment in the Thai bourse had
improved following the easing of the political turmoil. It could be
witnessed by an increase in the daily trading value to Bt9.8 billion or
Bt20 billion on certain days.
She reported having discussions with executives of stock markets
abroad and found that foreign investors have returned to buy more
stocks in Asia.
Stock indices in some countries had rallied and increased by around 20 per cent so far. (TNA)
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