Thai Stock Market May Extend Tuesday’s Losses

The Thai stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 25 points or 1.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,660-point plateau and it’s looking at another red light again for Wednesday’s trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising coronavirus cases and concern over the outlook for interest rates, although support from crude oil may limit the downside. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The SET finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index dropped 16.60 points or 0.99 percent to finish at 1,660.27 after trading between 1,660.15 and 1,682.93. Volume was 42.957 billion shares worth 113.953 billion baht. There were 1,496 decliners and 398 gainers, with 340 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info jumped 1.83 percent, while Thailand Airport shed 0.41 percent, Asset World and True Corporation both fell 0.43 percent, Banpu tanked 2.68 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.16 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical tumbled 1.79 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.22 percent, CP All Public dropped 0.85 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods stumbled 2.83 percent, Energy Absolute retreated 1.57 percent, Gulf plunged 2.88 percent, IRPC declined 2.45 percent, Kasikornbank dipped 0.35 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.72 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.84 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.97 percent, PTT slumped 1.94 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surged 3.27 percent, PTT Global Chemical plummeted 2.94 percent, SCG Packaging lost 1.19 percent, Siam Commercial Bank cratered 2.76 percent, Siam Concrete slid 1.80 percent, TTB Bank weakened 1.37 percent and BTS Group was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.

The Dow plummeted 543.34 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 35,368.34, while the NASDAQ tumbled 268.15 points or 1.56 percent to close at 14,506.90 and the S&P 500 sank 85.74 points or 1.84 percent to end at 4,577.11.

The weakness on Wall Street followed a surge in Treasury yields due to concerns about imminent interest rate hikes, spooking investors and encouraging them to cash in.

Lingering worries about the surge in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in several countries contribute as well to the bearish mood in the market.

In economic news, the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index for January came in well shy of expectations, as did the NAHB Housing Market index.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery climbed $1.39 or 1.63 percent to close at $86.82 per barrel.