Thai Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral

The Thai stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,545-point plateau and it may spin its wheels again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with bargain hunting expected after heavy losses in the previous session. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Thursday with damage across the board – especially from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index fell 7.59 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 1,544.28 after trading between 1,543.75 and 1,553.90. Volume was 31.454 billion shares worth 78.153 billion baht.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport fell 0.43 percent, while Bangkok Bank shed 0.49 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical tumbled 1.75 percent, BTS Group skidded 1.12 percent, Gulf retreated 1.95 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.47 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.48 percent, PTT Oil & Retail dropped 0.87 percent, PTT declined 1.40 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surrendered 1.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical plunged 3.32 percent, SCG Packaging added 0.71 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 0.26 percent, Siam Concrete sank 0.48 percent, TTB Bank was down 1.02 percent and Advanced Info, Bangkok Expressway, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Krung Thai Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uncertain as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, eventually ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow lost 66.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 34,894.12, while the NASDAQ added 15.87 points or 0.11 percent to end at 14,541 and the S&P rose 5.5 points or 0.13 percent to close at 4,405.80.

The initial downside move on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, which note the increased possibility the central bank’s asset purchase program may be scaled back before the end of the year.

Potentially adding evidence to Fed officials’ view that the economy is close to the goal of maximum employment, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing initial jobless claims fell to a new pandemic-era low last week.

Bargain hunting helped to lift the markets as the session progressed.

Crude oil futures fell for a sixth straight session Thursday on worries about the outlook for energy demand after data showed a surprise build in gasoline inventories and continued spikes in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate futures for September ended down $1.77 or 2.7 percent at $63.60 a barrel, a three-month low.