Continued Consolidation Called For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after halting the three-day slide in which it had slumped almost 50 points or 3.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,370-point plateau and it’s expected to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative as disappointing earnings news and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished sharply lower on Thursday with damage across the board, although the food, finance and technology sectors were hit especially hard.

For the day, the index tumbled 30.48 points or 2.17 percent to finish at 1,371.22 after trading between 1,370.30 and 1,396.17. Volume was 11.592 billion shares worth 45.697 billion baht. There were 496 decliners and 53 gainers, with 92 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info slid 0.46 percent, while Thailand Airport slumped 1.12 percent, Asset World weakened 1.14 percent, Banpu surrendered 6.41 percent, Bangkok Bank tumbled 2.17 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.93 percent, B. Grimm dipped 0.43 percent, BTS Group gained 0.68 percent, CP All Public was down 2.64 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 1.09 percent, Delta Electronics crashed 10.53 percent, Energy Absolute slumped 2.73 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 2.63 percent, Krung Thai Bank declined 1.56 percent, Krung Thai Card plummeted 3.35 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 1.10 percent, PTT Exploration and Production eased 0.59 percent, PTT Global Chemical shed 0.73 percent, SCG Packaging fell 0.70 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dropped 1.02 percent, Siam Concrete retreated 1.37 percent, Thai Oil gave away 3.06 percent, True Corporation stumbled 3.79 percent, TTB Bank skidded 1.20 percent and Gulf, PTT and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but quickly turned lower and finished at session lows.

The Dow dropped 251.63 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 32,784.30, while the NASDAQ stumbled 225.62 points or 1.76 percent to close at 12,595.61 and the S&O 500 sank 49.54 points or 1.18 percent to end at 4,137.23.

The weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a slew of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing GDP soared by more than expected in the third quarter of 2023.

The resilience of the U.S. economy added to recent concerns about the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates higher for longer than investors had hoped.

In other economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods spiked more than expected in September. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged higher last week.

Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Thursday as diplomatic efforts to stop Israel from a ground invasion of Gaza helped ease concerns about oil supplies. Recent data showing a surge in U.S. crude inventories, and concerns about interest rates also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $2.18 or 2.6 percent at $83.21 a barrel.