Thai Shares Likely Rangebound On Thursday

The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last five trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,525-point plateau and it’s expected to see little movement on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors digest Wednesday’s FOMC rate decision. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly lower on Thursday as gains from the financials and food stocks were offset by weakness from the packaging and energy companies.

For the day, the index eased 1.71 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,524.59 after trading between 1,519.44 and 1,530.18. Volume was 9.825 billion shares worth 41.262 billion baht. There were 263 decliners and 159 gainers, with 213 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info improved 0.45 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Asset World gained 0.46 percent, Banpu dropped 1.06 percent, Bangkok Bank jumped 1.78 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical stumbled 1.74 percent, Bangkok Expressway slumped 0.56 percent, B. Grimm lost 0.68 percent, BTS Group declined 0.65 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.51 percent, Energy Absolute tumbled 1.79 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.20 percent, Krung Thai Bank advanced 0.99 percent, Krung Thai Card skidded 1.07 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.93 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.62 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.65 percent, SCG Packaging tanked 2.50 percent, Siam Commercial Bank spiked 2.80 percent, Siam Concrete shed 0.63 percent, Thai Oil slid 0.51 percent, True Corporation rallied 2.21 percent, TTB Bank collected 1.19 percent and Gulf, PTT and CP All Public were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday but recovered enough to finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow gained 82.05 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 35,520.12, while the NASDAQ fell 17.27 points or 0.12 percent to close at 14,127.28 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.71 points or 0.02 percent to end at 4,566.75.

The late-day action came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to resume raising interest following a pause last month, raising the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points from 5.25 to 5.50 percent. With the increase, the midpoint of the target range is the highest since early 2001.

The decision to increase rates came as the Fed noted inflation remains elevated, while U.S. economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace and job gains have been robust in recent months.

In his post-meeting press conference Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it is possible the central bank could raise rates again in September or hold steady, noting the central bank plans to take a meeting by meeting approach.

Crude oil prices fell Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a smaller than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.85 or 1.1 percent at $78.78 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will see June figures for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 2.4 percent on year following the 3.14 percent drop in May.