Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, giving up almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,685-point plateau and it’s tipped to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, although crude oil prices may limit the downside. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index lost 14.51 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 1,684.69 after trading between 1,680.83 and 1,694.19. Volume was 30.708 billion shares worth 86.377 billion baht. There were 1,523 decliners and 441 gainers, with 364 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info retreated 1.27 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 1.92 percent, Banpu jumped 1.77 percent, Bangkok Bank declined 1.35 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.14 percent, CP All Public fell 0.39 percent, Energy Absolute stumbled 1.61 percent, Gulf dropped 0.99 percent, Krung Thai Bank slumped 1.38 percent, Krung Thai Card advanced 0.75 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 1.00 percent, PTT perked 0.62 percent, PTT Exploration and Production spiked 1.91 percent, PTT Global Chemical sank 0.87 percent, SCG Packaging and True Corporation both surrendered 1.20 percent, Siam Commercial Bank tanked 2.19 percent, Siam Concrete lost 1.03 percent, TTB Bank weakened 1.41 percent and Asset World, Bangkok Dusit Medical, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods, IRPC and Kasikornbank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Monday and spent most of the day in the red before ending modestly lower.

The Dow tumbled 171.89 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 34,566.17, while the NASDAQ eased 0.24 points or 0.00 percent to close at 13,790.92 and the S&P 500 fell 16.97 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,401.67.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came as traders kept a close eye on developments regarding the tensions between Ukraine and Russia. President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend but there was little progress in defusing the situation.

Traders also remained wary about the outlook for monetary policy following mixed remarks by Federal Reserve officials, with interest rates expected to rise as soon as next month.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday on rising concerns that Russia could attack Ukraine in the near future. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $2.36 or 2.5 percent at $95.46 a barrel, the highest settlement since September 2014.