Steady Start Eyed For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 35 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,610-point plateau although it may find traction on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with bargain hunting expected - especially among the oil and technology stocks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index lost 10.67 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 1,610.58 after trading between 1,610.32 and 1,627.30. Volume was 22.788 billion shares worth 75.039 billion baht.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.50 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.34 percent, Asset World dropped 0.85 percent, Banpu sank 0.78 percent, Bangkok Bank tumbled 2.16 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.08 percent, B. Grimm gained 0.71 percent, BTS Group lost 0.58 percent, CP All Public increased 0.44 percent, Energy Absolute eased 0.28 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 3.01 percent, Krung Thai Bank fell 0.50 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.86 percent, PTT weakened 0.68 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slumped 0.90 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.58 percent, SCG Packaging perked 0.47 percent, Siam Commercial Bank retreated 1.87 percent, Siam Concrete collected 0.61 percent, Thai Oil tanked 2.79 percent, True Corporation gathered 0.40 percent, TTB Bank surrendered 1.63 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Gulf, IRPC and PTT Oil & Retail were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages shook off early strength, sinking as the day progressed with only the NASDAQ finishing in the green.

The Dow dropped 125.82 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 29,134.99, while the NASDAQ added 26.58 points or 0.25 percent to end at 10,829.50 and the S&P 500 slipped7.75 points or 0.21 percent to close at 3,647.29.

Bargain hunting contributed to the early rebound on Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. Buying interest waned over the course of the morning, however, as concerns about higher interest rates and the outlook for the global economy continued to weigh on the markets.

The subsequent pullback by stocks came as treasury yields once again surged after an initial move to the downside, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note reaching its highest levels in over 12 years.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a modest decrease in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in August, as well as a rebound in new home sales last month. Also, the Conference Board saw a bigger than expected improvement in consumer confidence this month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday on reports producers have slowed down production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Ian. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $1.79 or 2.3 percent at $78.50 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Thailand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, from 0.75 percent to 1.00 percent.