Thai Stock Market Due For Support On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,410-point plateau and it may find traction on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat to lower following U.S. inflation data. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the consumer, finance, industrial, property, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index shed 5.28 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,408.24 after trading between 1,407.26 and 1,417.64. Volume was 11.959 billion shares worth 35.547 billion baht. There were 311 decliners and 165 gainers, with 172 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.46 percent, while Thailand Airport dropped 0.79 percent, Asset World declined 1.46 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.33 percent, Bangkok Expressway slumped 1.23 percent, B. Grimm jumped 1.89 percent, BTS Group was down 0.68 percent, Energy Absolute tumbled 1.72 percent, Gulf skidded 1.11 percent, Kasikornbank shed 0.39 percent, Krung Thai Bank and Krung Thai Card both lost 0.55 percent, PTT sank 0.71 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.68 percent, SCG Packaging plunged 2.88 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.96 percent, Siam Concrete retreated 1.37 percent, Thai Oil slid 0.47 percent and True Corporation, TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, PTT Global Chemical, Banpu, PTT Oil & Retail, CP All Public and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly plummeted deep into the red before rallying to finish mixed and flat.

The Dow rose 15.29 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 37,711.02, while the NASDAQ perked 0.54 points or 0.00 percent to close at 14,970.18 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.21 points or 0.07 percent to end at 4,780.24.

The early downturn on Wall Street came as traders digested the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in December, which showed prices rose slightly more than expected.

A number of economists have said the data makes the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates in March, with many predicting the central bank will hold off until its May meeting.

The late-day recovery attempt on Wall Street also came as treasury yields showed a notable move to the downside after showing a lack of direction for much of the day.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday as prices rebounded on likely disruptions in trade and supplies after Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude marked for delivery to Turkey. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.65 at $72.02 a barrel.