Thai Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red On Thursday

The Thai stock market has ticked higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 5 points or 0.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,675-point plateau although it’s expected to spin its wheels on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with technology stocks and financials in particular likely targeted for profit taking. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely higher on Wednesday, nudged into green by support from the energy producers.

For the day, the index rose just 0.08 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 1,677.95 after trading between 1,676.88 and 1,686.14. Volume was 24.139 billion shares worth 70.229 billion baht. There were 969 decliners and 713 gainers, with 628 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tumbled 1.74 percent, while Asset World sank 0.81 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.73 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.98 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.58 percent, BTS Group lost 0.55 percent, CP All Public stumbled 1.52 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods slumped 0.83 percent, Energy Absolute rose 0.27 percent, Gulf fell 0.51 percent, Krung Thai Card declined 0.81 percent, PTT Oil & Retail tanked 1.96 percent, PTT Exploration and Production and PTT Global Chemical both climbed 1.00 percent, SCG Packaging jumped 1.79 percent, True Corporation plunged 1.96 percent and TTB Bank, Thailand Airport, Banpu, IRPC, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, PTT, Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Concrete all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained that way largely throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 448.96 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 34,358.50, while the NASDAQ dropped 186.21 points or 1.32 percent to close at 13,922.60 and the S&P 500 sank 55.37 points or 1.23 percent to end at 4,456.24.

Lingering concerns about the ongoing war in Ukraine have contributed to the pullback on Wall Street along with a spike by the price of crude oil. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to impose further sanctions on Russia during his trip to Europe this week.

Traders also were cashing in on recent strength in the markets, as stocks moved notably higher in five out of the six previous sessions, although they may be wary of continuing to buy stocks amid worries about the Russia-Ukraine crisis, inflation and higher interest rates.

Crude oil futures settled at over two-week highs on Wednesday, lifted by data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories and worries about supply disruptions due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $5.66 or 5.2 percent at $114.93 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will provide February data for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are predicted to rise 19.0 percent on year, slowing from 20.5 percent in January. Exports are called higher by an annual 10.4 percent, up from 8.0 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at $1.5 billion following the $2.5 billion shortfall a month earlier.

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