Thai Stock Market May Test Support At 1,600 Points

The Thai stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, tumbling nearly 70 points or 4.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,625-point plateau and it’s expected to open in the red again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation thanks to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and skyrocketing crude oi prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished sharply lower on Monday with damage across the board, especially among the financials.

For the day, the index dropped 45.02 points or 2.69 percent to finish at 1,626.70 after trading between 1,616.08 and 1,655.19. Volume was 31.731 billion shares worth 127.806 billion baht. There were 1,948 decliners and 316 gainers, with 140 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info retreated 2.59 percent, while Thailand Airport declined 2.34 percent, Asset World tanked 4.80 percent, Banpu surged 3.42 percent, Bangkok Bank and Energy Absolute both tumbled 4.44 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical skidded 1.64 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 2.84 percent, B. Grimm plummeted 8.15 percent, BTS Group stumbled 3.68 percent, CP All Public shed 2.59 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods lost 2.88 percent, Gulf plunged 6.53 percent, IRPC weakened 3.26 percent, Kasikornbank surrendered 4.35 percent, Krung Thai Bank sank 3.65 percent, Krung Thai Card fell 2.02 percent, PTT Oil & Retail dropped 3.14 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.99 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 2.48 percent, SCG Packaging dipped 1.79 percent, Siam Commercial Bank cratered 4.96 percent, Siam Concrete was down 2.62 percent, True Corporation eased 0.80 percent, TTB Bank gave away 4.51 percent and PTT was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Monday and saw the losses accelerate as the session progressed, ending near their worst levels of the day.

The Dow plummeted 797.42 points or 2.37 percent to finish at 32,817.38, while the NASDAQ plunged 482.48 points or 3.62 percent to close at 12,830.96 and the S&P 500 dropped 127.78 points or 2.95 percent to end at 4,201.09.

Concerns about the impact of the recent surge in oil prices contributed to the sell-off on Wall Street as crude for April delivery surged on Monday, lifted by concerns over global oil supplies amid talks the U.S. and its Western allies are likely to impose a ban on Russian oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $3.72 or 3.2 percent at $119.40 a barrel.

Higher crude oil prices are already impacting prices at the pump as the national average for a gallon of gas has reached a 14-year high of $4.065. The increase in gas prices is likely to weigh on consumers, who are already grappling with higher prices due to elevated inflation.

This all comes as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates by at least a quarter point at its monetary policy meeting next week.