Thai Stock Market May Find Traction On Tuesday

The Thai stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 8 points or 0.5 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,550-point plateau although it’s expected to stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financial and energy sectors were mitigated by support from the packaging and food stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 3.70 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,551.41 after trading between 1,547.46 and 1,555.89. Volume was 11.315 billion shares worth 31.797 billion baht.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.46 percent, while Thailand Airport was down 0.69 percent, Asset World rallied 2.00 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.87 percent, BTS Group improved 0.68 percent, CP All Public rose 0.40 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.47 percent, Energy Absolute slid 0.39 percent, Gulf retreated 1.60 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.38 percent, Krung Thai Bank skidded 1.03 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.83 percent, PTT Oil & Retail dropped 0.96 percent, PTT declined 0.79 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slumped 1.32 percent, PTT Global Chemical lost 0.65 percent, SCG Packaging gained 0.65 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.30 percent, Thai Oil stumbled 1.09 percent, True Corporation tumbled 2.84 percent, TTB Bank plunged 3.01 percent and Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Banpu, B. Grimm and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened in the green on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow climbed 189.55 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 34,066.33, while the NASDAQ rallied 202.78 points or 1.53 percent to end at 13,461.92 and the S&P 500 gained 40.07 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,338.93.

The strength on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to pause its recent interest rate increases but is also likely to reiterate its commitment to bringing inflation down to its 2 percent target.

The Fed’s accompanying statement is likely to have a significant impact on the outlook for rates along with some closely watched inflation data due to be released in the coming days.

Oil prices fell sharply Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand following a downward revision in the crude oil price forecast by Goldman Sachs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July tumbled $3.05 or 4.4 percent at $67.12 a barrel, a three-month low.