Trinity Securities’ executive director, Vajiralux Sanglerdsillapachai, said the forecast was based on the record amount of foreign cash inflow of 800 million USD during February and March.

The investment sentiment should stand between 727-836 points in the second quarter and between 676-900 points at the end of the year. The main influence is the amount of foreign currencies invested in the Thai stock market.

Investment capital will continue to flow in if the economy continues to recover as expected. The gross domestic product in the first quarter is predicted to grow 6.6%. The continual increase in the profits of registered firms has caused the SET index to adjust up, already surpassing Indonesia’s index in the last 10 days. The SET index has risen by 6.53% since the beginning of this year while that of Indonesia has increased by 7%, said Ms Vajiralux.

However, the political conflict is still investors’ main concern. Any instigated violence or a House dissolution which would put the country’s administration on halt would result in an economic downturn.

Ms Vajiralux added that the direction of the SET in the latter half of the year is still to be monitored while the index is prone to fluctuation as concerns over rising interest rates and the economic crisis in Europe still exist.