SET index gains 13.7% on year,         just missing all-time high close

SET index gains 13.7% on year,         just missing all-time high close

Thai shares closed higher on the last trading day of 2017 at 1,753.71, just shy of the all-time closing high, while the benchmark index tallied an annual gain of 13.7%.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index was upbeat throughout the session, rising to an intra-day high of 1,753.73 points -- level with the record close on Jan 4, 1994 -- before settling at 1,753.71, up 0.6%, in moderate trade worth 45.4 billion baht.

The Asian market euphoria and continuous buying spree in tax-saving funds -- long-term equity funds (LTFs) and retirement mutual funds (RMFs) -- buoyed the Thai bourse yesterday.

In 2016, the SET index finished the last trading day at 1,542.94 points.

Total market capitalisation in 2017 amounted to 17.6 trillion baht, up 16.6% from 15.1 trillion a year earlier. Average daily turnover in 2017 was 47.8 billion baht, down nearly 5% from 50.2 billion in 2016, according to SET data.

Retail investors were the largest net sellers of Thai shares in 2017 at 94.6 billion baht, steady from 2016's net sales. Foreign investors cashed out 25.8 billion baht, compared with net buying of 77.9 billion in 2016.

Institutional investors were net buyers of 103.6 billion baht in 2017, versus net sales of 8.7 billion in 2016, while brokers continued their buying spree at 16.7 billion baht, albeit at a slower pace from 25.4 billion in 2016.

The SET's dividend yield was 2.7%, down from 3.04% in 2016. The market's price-to-earnings ratio stood at 19.1 at year-end, compared with 18.6 a year earlier.

Newly listed companies totalled 22 on the SET and 17 on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). In 2016, 11 companies listed on the SET and 13 on the second-tier exchange.

Total companies listed on the SET rose to 538 at the end of 2017 from 522 a year earlier, while those on the MAI increased to 150 from 134.

The MAI closed 2017 at 540.37 points, down 12.3% from 616.27 at the end of 2016, with average daily turnover up 3.4% to 2.36 billion baht from 2.28 billion in the previous year.

Online trading value for both the SET and the MAI rose to 833 billion baht as of November from 641 billion in 2016. In terms of ratio, internet trading fell to 32.2% of total trading value as of November from 36.8% in 2016.

Market capitalisation generated from allocating initial public offering (IPO) shares to the general public reached an all-time high of 426 billion baht this year, surpassing the SET's 280-billion-baht target, with 42 securities listing on both stock exchanges.

Of the 42 securities, 38 were listed companies, three were real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the remaining one was an infrastructure fund.

Gulf Energy Development (GULF) emerged as the biggest IPO by market capitalisation this year, with a size nearly one-fourth of the total market value generated from IPO share sales.

GULF was also the biggest IPO issue in terms of fund mobilisation. The power-generating firm raised 24 billion baht from the primary market.

The 46 IPO shares' fund-raising size combined for 106 billion baht in 2017, up substantially from 52.8 billion in the previous year.

Two stocks, Information and Communication Networks Plc (ICN) and Humanica Plc (HUMAN), have more than doubled their IPO price on the first day of trade. ICN shares gained 151.1% on the MAI, while HUMAN shares gained 101.3% on the SET.

Industrial equipment distributor Siameast Solutions Plc (SE) was the third-best IPO on its debut on the MAI, surging 70.6% from its offering price, followed by Do Day Dream Plc (DDD), the maker and distributor of Snail White skincare products, with a 60.4% gain, and Triple i Logistics Plc (III), which rose 57.3%.

On the other end of the scale, Grand Prix International Plc (GPI), the organiser of the Bangkok International Motor Show, was the worst performer on its debut with a 9.7% fall from its IPO price. CPT Drive and Power Plc (CPT), an industrial machinery and electric control systems distributor, tumbled 9.7% on its first day of trade, and the Strategic Hospitality Extendable Freehold and Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust (SHREIT) dropped 6.5%.

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