Oversold Thai Stock Market Still Expected To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in six straight sessions, sinking almost 50 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,620-point plateau and it's tipped to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns about growth and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index eased 2.37 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,619.98 after trading between 1,619.72 and 1,629.92. Volume was 15.733 billion shares worth 59.132 billion baht. There were 1,040 decliners and 529 gainers, with 437 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport eased 0.34 percent, while Banpu sank 0.92 percent, Bangkok Bank slid 0.31 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed1.08 percent, B. Grimm tumbled 1.92 percent, BTS Group tanked 2.48 percent, CP All Public retreated 1.61 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods slumped 0.90 percent, Energy Absolute plunged 2.24 percent, Gulf plummeted 2.38 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.36 percent, Krung Thai Card declined 1.28 percent, PTT Oil & Retail stumbled 1.37 percent, PTT improved 0.79 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.67 percent, PTT Global Chemical shed 0.53 percent, SCG Packaging weakened 0.48 percent, Thai Oil strengthened 1.49 percent, TTB Bank dropped 0.71 percent and Advanced Info, Siam Commercial Bank and Krung Thai Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday in a volatile session, finally ending mixed.

The Dow rose 5.14 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 32,661.84, while the NASDAQ lost 76.06 points or 0.66 percent to close at 11,379.48 and the S&P 500 sank 18.76 points or 0.47 percent to end at 3,951.39.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management on U.S. manufacturing activity in February. While the index improved to 47.7 from 47.4 in January, it remained in contraction.

The report also showed the prices index jumped to 51.3 in February from 44.5 in January, indicating a spike in raw materials prices after four months of decline - which added to recent concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

Treasury yields jumped following the release of the report, with the 10-year yield reaching its highest levels in over three months.

Crude oil futures settled at near two-week high on Wednesday, boosted by upbeat China factory data that raised the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April climbed $0.64 or 0.8 percent at $77.69 a barrel.