The Thai stock market on Wednesday finally ended the winning streak that had reached eight sessions while advancing almost 100 points or 6.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,635-point plateau and it’s expected to hold steady in that range again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key U.S. employment data at the end of the week, while support from crude oil prices may nudge markets into the green. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, cement stocks and energy producers.
For the day, the index slipped 4.27 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,634.48 after trading between 1,628.16 and 1,646.07. Volume was 45.596 billion shares worth 117.677 billion baht. There were 1,478 decliners and 462 gainers, with 339 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info and BTS Group both skidded 1.06 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 1.96 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.44 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway tanked 2.31 percent, Gulf lost 0.60 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.22 percent, Krung Thai Bank sank 0.89 percent, Krung Thai Card fell 0.75 percent, PTT Oil & Retail declined 0.83 percent, PTT surrendered 1.96 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slid 1.79 percent, PTT Global Chemical plunged 1.95 percent, SCG Packaging weakened 1.07 percent, Siam Commercial Bank was down 1.41 percent, Siam Concrete and TTB Bank both slipped 0.93 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow quickly slipped into negative territory and finished in the red.
The Dow shed 48.20 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 35,312.53, while the NASDAQ gained 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record 15,309.38 and the S&P 500 rose 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to end at 4,524.09.
The lackluster close on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted weaker than expected private sector job growth in August. And the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in August.
Crude oil futures settled marginally higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $0.09 or 0.1 percent at $68.59 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will see August results for its consumer confidence index later today; in July, the index score was 40.9.
Market Analysis
Little Movement Anticipated For Thai Stock Market
2021-09-02 02:30:09
