The SET index was hit by round after round of negative news in February. The index declined 49.11 points to end the month at 1,622.35, its lowest close for the month. Average trading volume fell 7.3% from January to 63.2 billion baht as sentiment weakened.
A big drag on SET performance was the steady flow of disappointing fourth-quarter results — we calculate that overall net profits for the quarter missed market expectations by more than 40%. The misses have prompted downward revisions for 2023 and 2024 earnings of around 10% and 5%, respectively, as of this writing.
Moreover, economic figures from the US have beaten expectations, sending the 10-year bond yield surging to almost 4% and fund flows back to the US. The market currently foresees a mild recession but with potential…
