Continued Consolidation Expected For Thai Bourse

The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had plummeted almost 50 points or 3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,570-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower, thanks mainly to sinking crude oil prices. The European markets were barely down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index eased 1.29 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,569.70 after trading between 1,561.00 and 1,573.04. Volume was 23.024 billion shares worth 72.585 billion baht. There were 902 decliners and 660 gainers, with 499 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport shed 0.80 percent, while Bangkok Bank tumbled 1.86 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.23 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.72 percent, Krung Thai Bank dropped 0.96 percent, Krung Thai Card climbed 1.47 percent, PTT lost 0.66 percent, PTT Exploration and Production plunged 2.19 percent, PTT Global Chemical tanked 2.16 percent, SCG Packaging jumped 1.58 percent, Siam Commercial Bank declined 1.32 percent, Siam Concrete sank 0.93 percent and TTB Bank, Advanced Info, Bangkok Dusit Medical, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Gulf and PTT Oil & Retail all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks opened higher on Wednesday but then cooled and hugged the unchanged line, eventually finishing mixed and flat.

The Dow added 44.44 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 34,993.23, while the NASDAQ lost 32.70 points or 0.22 percent to end at 14,644.95 and the S&P 500 rose 5.09 points or 0.12 percent to close at 4,374.30.

Stocks moved to the upside early in the session amid a positive reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks before the House Financial Services Committee, which suggested the central bank is not likely to begin tightening monetary policy anytime soon.

Later in the day, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts. The Beige Book noted the U.S. economy strengthened from late May to early July, with the pace of growth described as moderate to robust.

On the earnings front, financial giant Citigroup (C) reported better than expected Q2 earnings, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported a narrower than expected Q2 loss on revenues that exceeded estimates. Bank of America (BAC) reported Q2 earnings that beat expectations but on weaker than expected revenues.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a drop in gasoline demand. Data showing a drop in China’s first-half crude imports also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August tumbled $2.12 or 2.8 percent at $73.13 a barrel.