Rally Expected To Stall For Thai Stock Market On Wednesday

The Thai stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 30 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,695-point plateau although it’s expected to run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast is sharply negative on soaring concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower on Tuesday and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index gained 9.10 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 1,694.28 after trading between 1,690.82 and 1,701.69. Volume was 27.575 billion shares worth 91.815 billion baht. There were 1,089 gainers and 741 decliners, with 534 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 3.49 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 1.95 percent, Asset World surged 6.25 percent, Banpu spiked 3.67 percent, Bangkok Bank tanked 2.14 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical rose 0.42 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.56 percent, BTS Group climbed 1.05 percent, Bumrungrad Hospital accelerated 6.19 percent, CP All Public gathered 0.37 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 0.99 percent, Energy Absolute was up 0.26 percent, Gulf advanced 0.99 percent, IRPC retreated 1.05 percent, Kasikornbank slid 0.31 percent, Krung Thai Bank declined 1.43 percent, Krung Thai Card added 0.79 percent, Osotspa soared 5.67 percent, PTT Oil & Retail jumped 1.94 percent, PTT slumped 1.27 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.73 percent, PTT Global Chemical surrendered 1.42 percent, SCG Packaging improved 0.82 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.80 percent, Siam Concrete shed 0.51 percent, True Corporation strengthened 4.00 percent and TTB Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed before closing firmly in the red.

The Dow plummeted 597.65 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 33,294.95, while the NASDAQ tumbled 218.94 points or 1.59 percent to close at 13,532.46 and the S&P 500 dropped 67.68 points or 1.55 percent to end at 4,306.26.

The weakness on Wall Street came as selling continued unabated amid rising worries about the likely economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and several Western countries.

According to reports, Russian rockets have hit the center of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a long line of tanks was heading toward Kyiv.

In U.S. economic news, construction spending posted a bigger gain than expected in January, while the ISM’s manufacturing PMI for February also came in above forecasts.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as an escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia raised concerns about global oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $7.69 or 8 percent at $103.41 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 2014.