Outlook improves but year-on-year gains rare

The SET Index moved sideways up this week in response to the quarterly bounce in reported third-quarter profits, as the resumption of business activity has been encouraging. We expect further quarterly improvement in the fourth quarter, albeit at a slower rate.

In the week ahead, we expect Thai shares will continue to trade in a sideways/sideways up pattern, with news on Covid-19 vaccine developments expected to be a key influence.

Aggregate third-quarter net earnings of companies under Bualuang Securities’ coverage were up 35% from the second quarter, though they were still down 33% year-on-year. Core profit rose 34% quarter-on-quarter but slumped by the same amount year-on-year.

Of the 19 sectors under active BLS coverage, only five reported year-on-year bottom-line growth. They included Food (12% year-on-year sales growth,…