The Thai stock market on Wednesday halted the two-day slide in which it had dropped almost 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,625-point plateau although it’s likely to head south again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation in reaction to the FOMC’s monetary policy announcement. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the energy producers were capped by weakness from the financial sector.
For the day, the index rose 2.48 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,624.79 after trading between 1,619.23 and 1,631.23. Volume was 28.853 billion shares worth 90.477 billion baht. There were 879 decliners and 711 gainers, with 487 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Thailand Airport fell 0.37 percent, while Asset World sank 0.80 percent, Bangkok Asset Management added 0.52 percent, Bangkok Bank dropped 0.83 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.44 percent, Bangkok Expressway jumped 1.73 percent, BTS Group rose 0.51 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 0.91 percent, Gulf shed 0.73 percent, Kasikornbank dipped 0.40 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 0.89 percent, Krung Thai Card plummeted 5.00 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.81 percent, PTT perked 1.23 percent, PTT Exploration and Production climbed 1.26 percent, PTT Global Chemical rallied 1.69 percent, SCG Packaging soared 3.57 percent, Siam Commercial Bank was down 0.49 percent, Siam Concrete gathered 0.48 percent and TTB Bank and Advanced Info were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened mixed and flat on Wednesday, but they all headed firmly lower into the close.
The Dow sank 265.66 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 34,033.67, while the NASDAQ shed 33.17 points or 0.24 percent to end at 14,039.68 and the S&P 500 fell 22.89 points or 0.54 percent to close at 4,223.70.
The weakness on Wall Street came as the Fed’s latest economic projections now point to an increase in interest rates in 2023.
The latest projections from Fed officials suggest interest rates will be increased to 0.6 percent in 2023 compared to previous projections indicating rates would remain at near-zero levels. Seven officials expect a rate hike as soon as 2022.
As expected, the Fed also maintained its target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it has remained since last March. The Fed said it expects rates to remain at near-zero levels until labor market conditions reach maximum employment and inflation is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.
Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled roughly flat on Wednesday, despite data showing a larger than expected drop in crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $0.03 at $72.15 a barrel after peaking earlier at $72.99.
Market Analysis
Renewed Selling Pressure Expected For Thai Stock Market
2021-06-17 02:30:45
