Thai Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Thursday

The Thai stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after halting the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 60 points or 3.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,615-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology stocks expected to take heavy damage amidst concerns over interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and a mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index shed 9.44 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 1,613.34 after trading between 1,604.30 and 1,622.70. Volume was 23.114 billion shared worth 71.693 billion baht. There were 1,304 decliners and 487 gainers, with 427 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.47 percent, while Thailand Airport shed 0.75 percent, Banpu tanked 2.48 percent, Bangkok Bank retreated 1.16 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.99 percent, BTS Group slid 0.56 percent, CP All Public slumped 1.55 percent, Energy Absolute sank 0.90 percent, IRPC plunged 4.73 percent, Kasikornbank skidded 1.02 percent, Krung Thai Bank stumbled 1.32 percent, Krung Thai Card increased 0.43 percent, PTT Oil & Retail surged 4.95 percent, PTT lost 0.68 percent, PTT Exploration and Production advanced 0.99 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.44 percent and TTB Bank, Gulf, PTT Global Chemical, SPCG and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages shook off early strength on Wednesday and accelerated into the red as the day progressed, finishing well under water.

The Dow tumbled 326.63 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 31,834.11, while the NASDAQ plummeted 373.44 points or 3.18 percent to end at 11,364.24 and the S&P 500 sank 65.87 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,935.18.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders digested a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing the annual rate of inflation slowed less than expected in April.

The data added to concerns the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates more aggressively in an effort to bring inflation down at a faster rate, which analysts fear could lead to a period of stagflation or an outright recession.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding sharply from recent losses thanks to data showing a significant drop in flows of Russian gas to Europe. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $5.95 or 6 percent at $105.71 a barrel.