Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,620-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns over the health of the global economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished barely lower on Monday as losses from the energy producers were offset by support from the financial shares.

For the day, the index eased 0.81 point or 0.05 percent to finish at 1,618.20 after trading between 1,613.94 and 1,624.34. Volume was 13.000 billion shares worth 44,500 billion baht. There were 967 decliners and 452 gainers, with 581 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.54 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.34 percent, Asset World improved 0.81 percent, Banpu sank 0.74 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical climbed 0.89 percent, B. Grimm shed 0.63 percent, BTS Group gained 0.61 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 1.23 percent, Energy Absolute fell 0.26 percent, IRPC declined 1.37 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.35 percent, Krung Thai Bank increased 1.14 percent, Krung Thai Card stumbled 1.24 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.43 percent, PTT Exploration and Production plummeted 3.77 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.53 percent, SCG Packaging dropped 0.88 percent, Siam Concrete was down 0.60 percent, Thai Oil eased 0.46 percent, True Corporation gained 0.84 percent, TTB Bank slumped 0.74 percent and Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Expressway, CP All Public, Gulf, PTT and Siam Commercial Bank were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages fluctuated early Monday but then headed well into the red and finished under pressure.

The Dow dropped 162.92 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 32,757.54, while the NASDAQ retreated 159.38 points or 1.49 percent to close at 10,546.03 and the S&P 500 slumped 34.70 points or 0.90 percent to end at 3,817.66.

The extended weakness on Wall Street came as traders continue to express concerns about the outlook for the economy. The Federal Reserve said it will continue raising interest rates next year, leading to worries the aggressive policy tightening will tip the economy into a recession.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders reported that homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a continued deterioration in December.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday amid optimism about increased demand for oil from China after the country relaxed certain COVID-related restrictions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.91 or 1.25 percent at $75.20 a barrel.