Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,630-point plateau although it’s expected to open in the red on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index shed 8.66 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 1,632.97 after trading between 1,628.66 and 1,640.87. Volume was 14.647 billion shares worth 62.673 billion baht. There were 1,104 decliners and 514 gainers, with 470 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tumbled 1.86 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.68 percent, Asset World retreated 1.61 percent, Banpu jumped 1.50 percent, Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank both fell 0.35 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical surrendered 1.72 percent, BTS Group skidded 1.20 percent, CP All Public stumbled 1.54 percent, Energy Absolute climbed 1.03 percent, Gulf improved 1.41 percent, IRPC weakened 1.32 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.57 percent, PTT sank 0.76 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 1.10 percent, PTT Global Chemical slumped 1.60 percent, Siam Commercial Bank shed 0.95 percent, Siam Concrete lost 1.20 percent, True Corporation spiked 1.74 percent and TTB Bank, Bangkok Expressway, B. Grimm, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Krung Thai Card, PTT Oil & Retail, SCG Packaging and Thai Oil were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains negative as the major averages opened lower and continued deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow retreated 350.76 points or 1.03 percent to finish at 33,596.76, while the NASDAQ tumbled 225.05 points or 2.00 percent to close at 11,014.89 and the S&P 500 dropped 57.58 points or 1.44 percent to end at 3,941.26.

The extended sell-off on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.

While the Fed is widely expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes next week, recent upbeat economic data has raised concerns about how much further the central bank will raise rates at future meetings.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of October.

Crude oil prices dropped to an 11-month low on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand as uncertainty and consequences of a continued Fed tightening weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $2.68 or 3.5 percent at $74.25 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will see November figures for consumer prices later today; in October, overall inflation rose 0.33 percent on month and 5.98 percent on year, while core CPI rose an annual 3.17 percent.