Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Tuesday

The Thai stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 40 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,660-point plateau although investors are likely to cash in on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets mixed to lower, with oil and technology stocks likely to extend recent losses. 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 slightly higher on Monday as gains from the financials were offset by weakness from the energy producers.

For the day, the index rose 2.14 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,660.15 after trading between 1,651.90 and 1,662.66. Volume was 24.666 billion shares worth 65.217 billion baht. There were 1,089 decliners and 700 gainers, with 570 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.43 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.39 percent, Asset World and True Corporation both rose 0.41 percent, Banpu tanked 2.61 percent, Bangkok Bank rallied 2.25 percent, Bangkok Expressway jumped 1.73 percent, BTS Group gained 0.54 percent, CP All Public improved 0.38 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods gathered 0.42 percent, Energy Absolute was up 0.29 percent, Gulf climbed 1.05 percent, IRPC shed 0.54 percent, Kasikornbank soared 3.18 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.74 percent, Krung Thai Card strengthened 1.22 percent, PTT Oil & Retail advanced 0.98 percent, PTT Exploration and Production skidded 1.00 percent, PTT Global Chemical dropped 0.98 percent, SCG Packaging increased 1.32 percent, Siam Commercial Bank spiked 3.03 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.80 percent, TTB Bank accelerated 1.53 percent and Bangkok Dusit Medical and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Monday, slipping into negative territory as the session progressed although the Dow finished barely in the green.

The Dow rose 1.05 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 32,945.24, while the NASDAQ plummeted 262.59 points or 2.04 percent to close at 12,581.22 and the S&P 500 shed 31.20 points or 0.74 percent to end at 4,173.11.

The steep drop by the NASDAQ came amid a spike in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels in well over two years. Treasury yields soared as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about further rate hikes.

The central bank is likely to continue raising rates over the comings months in an effort to combat elevated inflation, although the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict may affect the pace.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Monday amid easing worries about supply on reports the U.S. is likely to lift sanctions on Venezuelan oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $6.32 or 5.8 percent at $103.01 a barrel.

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