Financial equities were the main catalyst pulling down Thailand's stock market on Monday as banking shares shed heavy losses thanks to a recent order to freeze interim dividend payments to shareholders and suspend stock buybacks. The financial sector was the main drag for the decline, with a 5% plunge. A sea of red was seen in banking equities, one of the subsets of the financial sector, as they tumbled by 6.4%. The financial sector makes up 12.4% of the SET's market capitalisation, with banking equities accounting for 9% of the 12% portion. "Banking plays are no longer favourable for valuation and dividends, triggering fund outflows from banking [equities] to other stocks with high-dividend yields," said Therdsak Taveeteeratham, executive vice-president of research at Asia Plus Securities (ASP).

Source: Bangkok Post June 22, 2020 21:11 UTC