Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, sinking almost 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,570-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over economic growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index lost 9.09 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 1,570.57 after trading between 1,562.35 and 1,573.41. Volume was 14.892 billion shares worth 53.324 billion baht. There were 1,415 decliners and 383 gainers, with 373 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info skidded 1.07 percent, while Thailand Airport shed 0.68 percent, Asset World sank 0.88 percent, Banpu rallied 2.44 percent, Bangkok Bank lost 0.72 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical retreated 1.69 percent, Bangkok Expressway jumped 1.71 percent, B. Grimm tanked 2.38 percent, BTS Group declined 1.25 percent, CP All Public soared 3.72 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.41 percent, Gulf fell 0.51 percent, IRPC tumbled 1.91 percent, Kasikornbank slid 0.70 percent, Krung Thai Bank dipped 0.59 percent, Krung Thai Card plunged 3.08 percent, PTT Oil & Retail dropped 0.97 percent, PTT Exploration and Production perked 0.29 percent, PTT Global Chemical declined 1.83 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 2.38 percent, Siam Commercial Bank slipped 0.48 percent, Siam Concrete stumbled 1.57 percent, Thai Oil improved 0.48 percent, True Corporation climbed1.41 percent, TTB Bank was down 0.82 percent and Energy Absolute and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Monday but quickly turned lower, staying that way for the balance of the session.

The Dow dropped 93.91 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 29,202.88, while the NASDAQ tumbled 110.30 points or 1.04 percent to end at 10,542.10 and the S&P 500 slipped 27.27 points or 0.75 percent to close at 3,612.39.

The soft action on Wall Street may be partially attributed to light turnover, with many investors away from their desks for the Columbus Day holiday.

Soft sentiment still governed the markets after the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report last week failed to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates by coming in stronger than economists had anticipated.

U.S. inflation data, minutes from the Fed's September meeting and reports on retail sales and consumer sentiment due this week will provide more insights into policymakers' view of where inflation stands and the outlook for the future path of interest rates.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as soft data from China raised concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.51 or 1.6 percent at 91.13 a barrel.