Thai Shares Figure To Head South Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the six-day losing streak in which it had stumbled more than 55 points or 4 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,400-point plateau although it's expected to open firmly in the red on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests major consolidation on the deteriorating outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the food, consumer, finance and service sectors.

For the day, the index rose 3.38 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,398.95 after trading between 1,389.24 and 1,404.48. Volume was 9.304 billion shares worth 47.902 billion baht. There were 259 decliners and 227 gainers, with 178 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.08 percent, while Thailand Airport was up 0.84 percent, Asset World fell 0.57 percent, Banpu improved 0.87 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.68 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical strengthened 1.27 percent, Bangkok Expressway was down 0.68 percent, B. Grimm plunged 3.05 percent, BTS Group slumped 0.84 percent, CP All Public gathered 0.44 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rallied 2.68 percent, Energy Absolute dropped 1.01 percent, Gulf sank 0.82 percent, Kasikornbank added 0.65 percent, Krung Thai Bank advanced 0.96 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.51 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.76 percent, PTT increased 0.78 percent, PTT Global Chemical accelerated 2.13 percent, SCG Packaging skidded 1.03 percent, Siam Commercial Bank spiked 2.16 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.30 percent, Thai Oil declined 0.72 percent, True Corporation plummeted 4.35 percent, TTB Bank shed 0.55 percent and PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened flat on Wednesday and stayed that way for most of the session before plummeting after the FOMC's interest rate statement.

The Dow crashed 1,123.03 points or 2.58 percent to finish at 42,326.87, while the NASDAQ tanked 716.37 points or 3.56 percent to close at 19,392.69 and the S&P 500 sank 178.45 points or 2.95 percent to end at 5,872.16.

The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter-point but forecast fewer than previously estimated rate cuts next year.

With the rate cut almost universally expected, the focus of the announcement was on Fed officials' latest economic projections. The latest projections suggest rates will be in a range of 3.75 to 4.0 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the range of 3.25 to 3.50 percent forecast in September.

Assuming the Fed lowers rates by a quarter-point, the projections point to just two rate cuts next year compared to the four previously forecast as Fed officials expect inflation to come in hotter than previously estimated in 2025.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding from recent losses after data showed a drop in crude inventories and an increase in gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.50 or 0.71 percent at $70.58 a barrel.