The Thai stock market was bracing for a rocky Week as investors anxiously awaited the government's policy address to parliament and eyed outside factors including runaway oil prices, analysts said. "The market was expected to fluctuate as there are many factors that could affect trade," said Charoen Aimwattanatham of Kim Eng Securities.
Dominating concerns was the new policy platform to be presented to parliament Wednesday by the administration of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was re-elected in a landslide last month. Other factors include prospective ratings by international ratings agencies, a key US Federal bank meeting Tuesday and world oil prices.
Traders expect the US Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates at its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Tuesday amid growing concerns that record high crude oil prices could hurt global growth.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index added 0.42 points or 0.05 percent over the past week to close Friday at 711.40.