Lower Open Anticipated For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 10 points or 0.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,190-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild downside ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European and U.S. markets saw mild downside and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the food, property, service and technology sectors were mitigated by support from the consumer, finance and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 2.46 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 1,187.90 after trading between 1,185.20 and 1,193.96. Volume was 6.418 billion shares worth 27.633 billion baht. There were 327 decliners and 158 gainers, with 173 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info increased 1.10 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 1.25 percent, Asset World stumbled 2.26 percent, Banpu dropped 0.93 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.67 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical sank 0.89 percent, B. Grimm plunged 3.60 percent, BTS Group soared 3.70 percent, Energy Absolute cratered 3.54 percent, Kasikornbank strengthened 1.23 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.41 percent, Krung Thai Card jumped 1.63 percent, PTT Oil & Retail spiked 2.70 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 1.27 percent, PTT Global Chemical gained 0.56 percent, SCG Packaging accelerated 1.43 percent, Siam Commercial Bank improved 0.80 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 1.28 percent, Thai Oil advanced 0.99 percent, TTB Bank rallied 2.04 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, True Corporation, Gulf, PTT, CP All Public and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and bounced back and forth across the line before finishing modestly lower.

The Dow dropped 155.09 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 42,299.70, while the NASDAQ slumped 94.98 points or 0.53 percent to close at 17,804.03 and the S&P 500 sank 18.89 points or 0.33 percent to end at 5,693.31.

The lower close on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about President Donald Trump's trade policies after he announced plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on auto imports.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred readings on consumer price inflation later today.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said the economy grew slightly faster than estimated in the fourth quarter of 2024. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales saw a significant rebound in February after plunging to an all-time low in January.

Oil prices moved higher Thursday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.19 or about 0.27 percent at $69.84 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will release February figures for industrial production later today, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 1.7 percent on year following the 0.85 percent drop in January.