Thai Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

The Thai stock market has tracked lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,615-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the economic recovery. The European and U.S. markets were down sharply and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financial shares were mitigated by support from the energy producers.

For the day, the index dipped 3.52 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 1,616.50 after trading between 1,614.31 and 1,626.55. Volume was 39.317 billion shares worth 98.947 billion baht. There were 1,130 decliners and 653 gainers, with 581 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport shed 0.40 percent, while Bangkok Bank fell 0.42 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical lost 0.44 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.57 percent, BTS Group sank 0.52 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.96 percent, Gulf skidded 1.21 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.48 percent, Krung Thai Bank tumbled 1.75 percent, Krung Thai Card rose 0.43 percent, PTT Oil & Retail was down 0.89 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.71 percent, PTT Global Chemical soared 3.24 percent, SCG Packaging surrendered 1.61 percent, Siam Commercial Bank tanked 2.34 percent, Siam Concrete plunged 1.93 percent, TTB Bank gave away 2.61 percent and Advanced Info and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened solidly in the red on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 569.38 points or 1.63 percent to finish at 34,299.99, while the NASDAQ plunged 423.29 points or 2.83 percent to close at 14,546.68 and the S&P 500 tumbled 90.48 points or 2.04 percent to end at 4,352.63.

Technology stocks helped lead the markets lower amid a continued advance by treasury yields. Extending the upward move seen since last week’s announcement from the Federal Reserve, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest levels in over three months.

The increase in treasury yields, which move opposite of bond prices, came as the Fed has signaled plans to begin scaling back its asset purchases in the near future.

Also contributing to the continued advance by yields, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned members of the Senate Banking Committee about upside risks to inflation during testimony Tuesday morning.

Crude oil futures ended lower Tuesday, snapping a five-day winning streak as a sell-off in stock markets and a stronger dollar weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $0.16 or 0.2 percent at $75.29 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Thailand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.50 percent.

Thailand also will see August figures for industrial production, with forecasts suggesting a flat reading following the 5.12 percent increase in July.

Market Analysis