Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, slipping more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it’s likely to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the industrial, energy, food and finance companies were mitigated by support from the property and technology stocks.

For the day, the index eased 1.17 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,519.56 after trading between 1,506.00 and 1,521.41. Volume was 14.194 billion shares worth 59.406 billion baht. There were 294 decliners and 198 gainers, with 146 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.45 percent, while Thailand Airport slumped 0.71 percent, Asset World rallied 1.53 percent, Banpu surrendered 2.16 percent, Bangkok Bank slipped 0.29 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical improved 0.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway rose 0.56 percent, B. Grimm shed 0.69 percent, BTS Group declined 0.70 percent, CP All Public advanced 0.81 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tanked 2.05 percent, Gulf climbed 1.05 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.39 percent, Krung Thai Card skidded 1.08 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.50 percent, PTT lost 0.69 percent, PTT Exploration and Production sank 0.62 percent, PTT Global Chemical plummeted 5.81 percent, SCG Packaging retreated 1.33 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.44 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.32 percent, Thai Oil tumbled 1.88 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.72 percent and Krung Thai Bank, True Corporation and Energy Absolute were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday but quickly turned lower and ended solidly in the red.

The Dow dropped 180.65 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 34,765.74, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.42 points or 1.15 percent to close at 13,474.63 and the S&P 500 sank 33.53 points or 076 percent to end at 4,404.33.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, which said “most of the central bank officials continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy.”

In economic news, U.S. industrial and manufacturing production both eased in July, while building permits and housing starts saw mild upside.

Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday amid worries about the outlook for energy demand from China and uncertainty over interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $1.61 or 2 percent at $79.38 a barrel.