Thai Stock Market May Extend Friday’s Losses

The Thai stock market on Friday ended the six-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 20 points or 1.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,645-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed COVID-19 concerns and the resulting drop in crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index slipped 5.96 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 1,645.06 after trading between 1,641.52 and 1,656.27. Volume was 39.408 billion shares worth 102.896 billion baht. There were 1,215 decliners and 533 gainers, with 498 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.76 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.37 percent, Bangkok Bank tumbled 1.95 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical surrendered 2.03 percent, Bangkok Expressway retreated 1.67 percent, BTS Group tanked 2.55 percent, CP All Public slid 0.38 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.81 percent, Energy Absolute skyrocketed 8.30 percent, Gulf added 0.61 percent, IRPC spiked 2.05 percent, Kasikornbank declined 1.68 percent, Krung Thai Bank skidded 1.67 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.42 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 0.94 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 0.42 percent, PTT Global Chemical shed 0.82 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 0.78 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plummeted 4.48 percent, TTB Bank stumbled 1.63 percent, True Corporation was down 1.37 percent and PTT and Siam Concrete were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened lower on Friday and stayed that way and the NASDAQ opened higher and closed at a record high. The S&P 500 opened slightly lower, bounced back and forth across the unchanged line and ended slightly in the red.

The Dow dropped 268.92 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 35,601.98, while the NASDAQ added 63.74 points or 0.40 percent to close at 16,057.44 and the S&P 500 eased 6.58 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,697.96. For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.2 percent, the S&P rise 0.3 percent and the Dow lost 1.4 percent.

Renewed COVID-19 concerns weighed on cyclical stocks as a brutal fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across Europe. Austria has announced a full national COVID-19 lockdown starting today, while Germany has announced more restrictions on unvaccinated people.

The potential of more European countries reinstating full lockdowns sparked worries the pandemic could once again weigh down the global economy.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy NASDAQ benefitted from continued strength among technology stocks following some upbeat earnings news from companies such as software firm Intuit (INTU) and cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW).

Crude oil prices plunged sharply on Friday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a surge in COVID-19 cases and fresh restrictions in some European countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December settled at $75.94 a barrel, losing $2.47 or 3.2 percent.