Thai Stock Market May Reverse Tuesday’s Damage

The Thai stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 40 points or 2.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,645-point plateau although it’s poised to rebound higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting, particularly among the recently battered technology stocks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index sank 15.79 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 1,644.36 after trading between 1,639.90 and 1,663.32. Volume was 27.114 billion shares worth 82.506 billion baht. There were 1,481 decliners and 450 gainers, with 465 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info retreated 1.28 percent, while Thailand Airport skidded 1.17 percent, Asset World stumbled 1.62 percent, Banpu plunged 3.57 percent, Bangkok Bank tumbled 1.83 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.96 percent, Bangkok Expressway declined 1.14 percent, BTS Group surrendered 1.08 percent, CP All Public added 0.42 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods sank 0.90 percent, Energy Absolute dropped 0.88 percent, Gulf slumped 1.04 percent, IRPC weakened 1.63 percent, Kasikornbank tanked 2.16 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 1.47 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 1.20 percent, PTT Oil & Retail plunged 1.94 percent, PTT plummeted 1.90 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 1.69 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.99 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 1.26 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.26 percent, True Corporation dove 2.02 percent, TTB Bank gave away 1.50 percent and SCG Packaging was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and accelerated as the day progressed, finishing near daily highs.

The Dow soared 599.10 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 33,544.34, while the NASDAQ surged 367.40 points or 2.92 percent to end at 12,948.62 and the S&P 500 jumped 89.34 points or 2.14 percent to close at 4,262.45.

The rebound on Wall Street followed Monday’s downturn as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness – particularly on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, which had fallen to its lowest closing level in over a year.

Traders also reacted positively to a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices increased slightly less than expected in February, even as the Federal Reserve prepares to announce its first rate hike since 2018 later today.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Tuesday amid fresh concerns over demand from China, where there has been a surge in Covid-19 cases, and on easing worries about supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April dropped $6.57 or 6.4 percent at $96.44 a barrel, more than 25 percent off a recent high of $130.50 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 5.8 percent on Monday.