Rossana Tositrakul, chairwoman of 30 organisations against corruption, stands outside the empty office said to be the headquarters of Asia Aviation, a new investor in Thai AirAsia.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index jumped seven points immediately after the Court announced its decision in favour of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Shin and its subsidiaries – Advanced Info Service Plc, Shin Satellite Plc, CS Loxinfo, iTV and SC Asset Corp Plc – all advanced in price yesterday after the announcement.

A foreign broker who commented on condition of anonymity said that the court’s decision relieved foreign investors “to a certain level”.

Foreigners turned back to buy shares with a net worth of Bt931.6 million yesterday after unloading stocks with a net value of Bt113.9 million on Wednesday.

 Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chairman of the Securities Analysts’ Association and chief executive of Asia Plus Securities, said the court’s decision would be a positive for the bourse only in the short term because Thai investors were still weighing political factors in making their investment decisions.

He admitted that political factors were casting a dark cloud over the stock market, but that it would be a short-lived phenomenon.

“Local investors overreacted to the political situation,” he said. “Institutional investors from the US have remained bullish on the Thai stock market and have almost ignored this factor.”

Despite the court’s decision to dismiss the petition filed by 28 senators, Thaksin could still dissolve the House of Representatives, and move that would not adversely affect the country’s economy, Kongkiat opined.

“After talking with foreign investors, we think that in the case of a House dissolution, Thai Rak Thai would continue to lead the next government, but its number of MPs would decline,” he said.

Asia Plus Securities has maintained that the SET index will reach 800 points this year.

“In the short term, the stock market has inevitably been hurt by the political uncertainty, but investment sentiment will return to normal when investors get used to the situation,” Kongkiat said.

SET President Kittiratt Na-Ranong said Thai shares are undervalued as nervousness over politics has overshadowed the market.

“It is an opportunity for investors to buy shares at cheap prices,” he said. “I believe the situation will return to normal eventually.”

Wichai Poolworaluk, president of the Thai Investors’ Association, said the court’s decision would be a boon to the Thai stock market only in the short term.

“This decision has boosted market sentiment because it has helped to relieve the political uncertainty that has been plaguing the market since Tuesday, when the petition was filed,” said Amarit Sukhavanij, head of research at Kasikorn Securities.

The SET index moved in roller-coaster fashion during yesterday’s morning trading session, but it rallied after the court’s rejection of the petition in the late morning.

The index climbed to the day’s peak of 737.07 before weakening slightly to end the day at 735.16, or a 1.3-per cent gain from the close of business on Wednesday. Turnover was moderate at Bt21.31 billion.

SC Asset shares surged 22 per cent to Bt19.90, AIS chalked up a 4.3-per cent rise to Bt98, CS Loxinfo jumped 2.5 per cent to Bt3.28, iTV was up 1.8 per cent to Bt11.20, Shinsat grew 0.78 per cent to Bt12.90 and Shin Corp edged up 0.52 per cent to Bt48.

 The euphoria in these stocks rubbed off on others in the stock market. Kasikornbank rose 3.8 per cent to Bt67.50, Bangkok Bank soared 1.8 per cent to Bt111, and Thai Oil Plc was up 2.6 per cent at Bt59.50.

Pressure from the mounting concern over political stability has seen the SET index lose nearly 5 per cent since late last month, when it recorded an intraday high of 769.57. The anxiety increased on Tuesday after the 28 senators filed the impeachment petition with the Constitution Court.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

Oranan Paweewun

 The Nation