Thai Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure On Monday

The Thai stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking nearly a dozen points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,610-point plateau and it’s likely to extend its losses on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower on Friday and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index slid 4.67 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,612.98 after trading between 1,604.44 and 1,622.43. Volume was 30.187 billion shares worth 110.189 billion baht. There were 1,128 decliners and 519 gainers, with 419 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.58 percent, while Thailand Airport tanked 2.22 percent, Asset World retreated 1.67 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.88 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.14 percent, Gulf spiked 2.96 percent, Kasikornbank sank 0.80 percent, Krung Thai Bank dropped 0.91 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.81 percent, PTT plunged 2.44 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surrendered 2.07 percent, PTT Global Chemical fell 0.42 percent, SCG Packaging plummeted 3.00 percent, Siam Commercial Bank declined 1.00 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 0.96 percent, TTB Bank sank 0.87 percent and Bangkok Asset Management, Bangkok Bank, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Krung Thai Card were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is decidedly negative as stocks opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 533.37 points or 1.58 percent to finish at 33,290.08, while the NASDAQ dropped 130.97 points or 0.92 percent to end at 14,030.38 and the S&P 500 sank 55.41 points or 1.31 percent to close at 4,166.45.

For the week, the Dow plunged 3.4 percent, the NASDAQ dipped 0.3 percent and the S&P fell 1.9 percent.

Concerns about the outlook for monetary policy continued to weigh on the markets following recent Federal Reserve comments. The Fed’s forecast for two interest rates hikes in 2023 has led to speculation that the central bank will soon start tapering its asset purchases.

In addition, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis President James Bullard suggested that rates could be hiked as early as next year, touching off a wave of selling.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday amid optimism about energy demand in the U.S. thanks to reopening of businesses after lockdowns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.60 or 0.8 percent at $71.64 a barrel. WTI Crude oil futures gained 1 percent in the week.