Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slumping more than 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,595-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with losses among technology stocks likely to be mitigated by continued support from oil shares. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy companies.

For the day, the index lost 6.32 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 1,594.05 after trading between 1,591.20 and 1,603.79. Volume was 14.174 billion shares worth 41.645 billion baht. There were 1,025 decliners and 448 gainers, with 510 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, while Banpu dropped 0.90 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.32 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical rallied 2.52 percent, Bangkok Expressway improved 0.56 percent, B. Grimm tanked 2.53 percent, BTS Group jumped 1.41 percent, CP All Public retreated 1.21 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods declined 1.38 percent, Gulf and PTT Oil & Retail both lost 0.47 percent, Kasikornbank skidded 1.13 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.60 percent, Krung Thai Card slumped 0.93 percent, PTT sank 0.79 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.63 percent, PTT Global Chemical plummeted 3.24 percent, SCG Packaging stumbled 1.62 percent, Siam Concrete shed 0.63 percent, Thai Oil surrendered 1.39 percent, True Corporation plunged 2.40 percent and TTB Bank, Advanced Info, Siam Commercial Bank, Asset World and Energy Absolute were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quicky turned lower and finished with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 198.77 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 33,402.38, while the NASDAQ sank 63.12 points or 0.52 percent to close at 12,126.33 and the S&P 500 shed 23.91 points or 0.58 percent to end at 4,100.60.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on recent strength in the markets amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook.

Negative sentiment was also generated by a Labor Department report showing job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in February. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell more than expected in February.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a fourth straight session as the decision of the OPEC+ to cut crude production continued to support oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.29 or 0.4 percent at $80.71 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will provide March data for consumer prices later today, with overall inflation expected to rise 3.30 percent on year - easing from 3.79 percent in February. Core CPI is pegged at an annual 1.82 percent, down from 1.93 percent in the previous month.