Lower Open Predicted For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market turned slightly lower again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day slide in which it had dropped almost 40 points or 2.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,550-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation due to a surge in local coronavirus cases. The European and U.S. markets finished with slight losses and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely lower on Monday as losses from the energy producers were mitigated by support from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index eased 0.32 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,549.16 after trading between 1,529.69 and 1,554.08. Volume was 37.824 billion shares worth 98.562 billion baht. There were 1,055 decliners and 583 gainers, with 394 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.59 percent, while Thailand Airport climbed 1.26 percent, Bangkok Asset Management retreated 1.66 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.43 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.95 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.66 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods plunged 3.51 percent, Delta Technology surged 6.25 percent, Kasikornbank gained 0.83 percent, Krung Thai Bank advanced 0.93 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.88 percent, PTT skidded 1.24 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.42 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.74 percent, SCG Packaging soared 5.02 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rallied 2.03 percent, Siam Concrete plummeted 3.88 percent and TTB Bank, Asset World, BTS Group and Gulf were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened in the red on Monday, came off of the day’s lows but still ended in negative territory.

The Dow shed 54.34 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 34,327.79, while the NASDAQ lost 50.93 points or 0.38 percent to end at 13,379.05 and the S&P 500 fell 10.56 points or 0.25 percent to close at 4,163.29.

Lingering concerns about inflation and the outlook for monetary policy weighed on Wall Street ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

Traders will closely analyze the Fed minutes for indications officials are growing concerned about the recent acceleration in inflation and considering tapering asset purchases.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said regional manufacturing activity pulled back modestly in May after jumping to a three-year high in April. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. held steady in May.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Monday on hopes energy demand will pick up as the U.S. and European economies show signs of a quick recovery from the pandemic. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June rose $0.90 or 1.4 percent at $66.27 a barrel.