Soft Start Predicted For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,590-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation following recent gains and rising treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely lower on Wednesday as losses from the energy producers were offset by gains from the financial sector.

For the day, the index eased 1.64 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,588.72 after trading between 1,583.81 and 1,596.03. Volume was 15.213 billion shares worth 48.990 billion baht. There were 959 decliners and 605 gainers, with 610 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.27 percent, while Asset World tumbled 1.71 percent, Banpu tanked 2.36 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.72 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical plunged 2.61 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.56 percent, B. Grimm soared 3.17 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods fell 0.40 percent, Energy Absolute lost 0.53 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.02 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.59 percent, PTT Oil & Retail advanced 0.99 percent, PTT Exploration and Production sank 0.88 percent, PTT Global Chemical rallied 2.44 percent, Siam Commercial Bank strengthened 1.43 percent, Siam Concrete gained 0.63 percent, Thai Oil jumped 1.45 percent, TTB Bank improved 0.81 percent and Thailand Airport, BTS Group, CP All Public, Gulf, IRPC, Krung Thai Card, PTT, SCG Packaging and True Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages were unable to hold early gains on Wednesday, slipping into the red in afternoon trade and ending in negative territory.

The Dow shed 99.99 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 30,423.81, while the NASDAQ sank 91.89 points or 0.85 percent to end at 10,680.51 and the S&P 500 lost 24.82 points or 0.67 percent to close at 3,695.16.

Profit taking contributed to the pullback on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strong gains on Monday and Tuesday. The major averages ended Tuesday's trading well off their highs of the session, although the Dow still reached its best closing level in almost a month.

Lingering concerns about higher interest rates and the impact on the global economy also continued to weigh on the markets along with a jump in treasury yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note moved sharply higher following a modest pullback on Tuesday, reaching its highest levels in 14 years.

Stocks regained some ground following the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts. The Beige Book said economic activity in the U.S. has expanded modestly since September, although conditions varied across industries and districts.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as data showed declines in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.73 or 3.3 percent at $85.55 a barrel.