Thai Stock Market Tipped To Open Under Pressure On Wednesday

The Thai stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,545-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over the outlook for the economy and for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the food, finance, property, technology and energy sectors.

For the day, the index jumped 19.75 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 1,545.60 after trading between 1,532.45 and 1,548.32. Volume was 16.408 billion shares worth 71.930 billion baht. There were 346 gainers and 128 decliners, with 168 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.45 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Asset World soared 2.53 percent, Banpu rose 0.57 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gathered 0.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway strengthened 1.69 percent, B. Grimm and PTT both improved 0.69 percent, BTS Group accelerated 2.11 percent, CP All Public skyrocketed 3.20 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods surged 3.08 percent, Energy Absolute jumped 1.70 percent, Gulf rallied 2.04 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.78 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 0.99 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 0.93 percent, PTT Global Chemical and SCG Packaging both gained 0.68 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.88 percent, Thai Oil lost 0.48 percent, True Corporation spiked 2.17 percent, TTB Bank added 0.56 percent and Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank and Siam Concrete were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and quickly turned lower, although the NASDAQ managed to finish in the green.

The Dow dropped 174.86 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 34,288.83, while the NASDAQ rose 8.28 points or 0.06 percent to close at 13,505.87 and the S&P 500 slipped 12.22 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,387.55.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, later this week.

Early volatility in the bond market may also have contributed to the choppy trading, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note showing wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in the U.S. slumped much more than expected in July.

Crude oil futures eased on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September slipped $0.37 or 0.5 percent at $80.35 a barrel.