Thai Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Wednesday

The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just shy of the 1,380-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were own and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The SET finished barely lower on Tuesday as losses from the consumption, finance, service and technology sectors were mitigated by support from the industrial, property and resource stocks.

For the day, the index eased 0.02 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 1,379.46 after trading between 1,374.77 and 1,382.01. Volume was 13.203 billion shares worth 38.326 billion baht. There were 246 gainers and 207 decliners, with 204 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.98 percent, while Asset World spiked 1.93 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.36 percent, B. Grimm sank 0.91 percent, BTS Group stumbled 1.75 percent, CP All Public slumped 0.92 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Krung Thai Card both shed 0.55 percent, Gulf declined 1.14 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.21 percent, Krung Thai Bank tumbled 1.78 percent, PTT Oil & Retail added 0.55 percent, PTT perked 0.74 percent, PTT Exploration and Production soared 2.65 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.90 percent, SCG Packaging rallied 2.56 percent, Thai Oil strengthened 1.72 percent, TTB Bank skidded 1.10 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, Siam Concrete, while True Corporation, Banpu, Energy Absolute, Bangkok Dusit Medical, Thailand Airport and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 396.61 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 39,170.24, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.38 points or 0.95 percent to close at 16,240.45 and the S&P 500 sank 37.96 points or 0.72 percent to end at 5,205.81.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates as traders digested recent U.S. inflation and manufacturing data, which has raised questions about whether the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in June.

Treasury yields moved sharply higher in reaction to the data and saw further upside during Tuesday’s session, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching a four-month high.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported a significant rebound in factory orders in February.

Oil prices hit a five-month high on Tuesday amid rising demand following solid manufacturing activity data from the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.44 or 1.72 percent at $85.15 a barrel, the highest settlement since last October.

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