Thai Stock Market May Find Traction On Friday

The Thai stock market had finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,535-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on continuing concerns over inflation, recession and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index shed 9.98 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 1,536.82 after trading between 1,532.08 and 1,550.33. Volume was 18.708 billion shares worth 61.695 billion baht. There were 1,285 decliners and 385 gainers, with 456 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.49 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.36 percent, Banpu retreated 1.56 percent, Bangkok Bank plunged 3.05 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.16 percent, CP All Public tanked 2.79 percent, Energy Absolute rallied 2.88 percent, Gulf gained 0.52 percent, Indorama Ventures plummeted 3.31 percent, IRPC tumbled 1.89 percent, Kasikornbank declined 1.37 percent, Krung Thai Bank slumped 2.01 percent, Krung Thai Card shed 0.46 percent, PTT Oil & Retail jumped 1.98 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surrendered 2.19 percent, PTT Global Chemical weakened 1.69 percent, SCG Packaging improved 0.46 percent, Siam Commercial Bank cratered 5.00 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.27 percent, Thai Oil dropped 1.48 percent, True Corporation was up 0.43 percent, TTB Bank sank 2.61 percent and Asset World, Bangkok Dusit Medical, B. Grimm, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed and flat as the major averages shook off a sharply lower open on Thursday, improving as the day progressed and ending little changed on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow shed 142.62 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 30,630.17, while the NASDAQ rose 3.60 points or 0.03 percent to close at 11,251.19 and the S&P 500 slid 11.40 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,790.38.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointing earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS), which both missed expectations.

Concerns about inflation and higher interest rates also continued to weigh on the markets after the Labor Department reported that U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in June.

Another report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly inched higher last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday as concerns about the outlook for energy demand resurfaced amid fears of a possible recession due to rising interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $0.52 or 0.5 percent at $95.78 a barrel.

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