Thai Stock Market Likely To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping more than 15 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,255-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continuing concerns over the viability of the technology companies. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the finance, property, resource, services and technology sectors.

For the day, the index fell 3.83 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 1,256.85 after trading between 1,255.12 and 1,265.17. Volume was 6.006 billion shares worth 32.017 billion baht. There were 231 gainers and 207 decliners, with 211 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport declined 1.38 percent, while Asset World advanced 0.96 percent, Banpu increased 0.81 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.30 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical perked 0.51 percent, Bangkok Expressway rallied 1.89 percent, B. Grimm expanded 1.37 percent, CP All Public gathered 0.57 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods jumped 1.93 percent, Gulf gained 0.60 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.88 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.68 percent, PTT Oil & Retail picked up 0.77 percent, PTT dropped 0.80 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rose 0.47 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.50 percent, SCG Packaging lost 0.62 percent, Siam Commercial Bank sank 0.74 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 1.09 percent, Thai Oil retreated 0.71 percent, True Corporation improved 0.91 percent and TTB Bank, Kasikornbank, Advanced Info, Energy Absolute and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day under water.

The Dow dropped 228.29 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 47,885.97, while the NASDAQ plunged 418.14 points or 1.81 percent to close at 22,693.32 and the S&P 500 sank 78.83 points or 1.16 percent to end at 6,721.43.

The sharp pullback seen as the day progressed came amid renewed weakness among technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.8 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Computer hardware stocks and networking stocks also slumped.

On the other hand, energy stocks turned in a strong performance as the price of crude oil rebounds from its lowest levels since early 2021.

The rebound by the price of crude oil comes after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.70 or 1.3 percent to end at $55.97 per barrel.