Lower Open Called For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 50 points or 3.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,615-point plateau and it's tipped to open under water again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging crude oil prices and the resulting inflation concerns. The European and U.S. markets were firmly in the red and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, consumer, finance, service and technology sectors, while the resource, property and industrial companies offered support.

For the day, the index slipped 4.00 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,617.89 after trading between 1,614.50 and 1,629.21. Volume was 10.630 billion shares worth 81.330 billion baht. There were 224 decliners and 210 gainers, with 226 stocks finishing unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained under water throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 405.41 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 52,380.66, while the NASDAQ shed 168.07 points or 0.64 percent to end at 26,253.34 and the S&P 500 fell 37.16 points or 0.48 percent to close at 7,636.36.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil, with international benchmark brent crude futures topping $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

The sharp increase in crude oil prices has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday as the U.S. and Iran continued to trade attacks, dashing hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and renewing inflation concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $2.98 or 3.20 percent at $96.01 per barrel.