Thai Stock Market May Extend Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had risen just over 5 points or 0.4 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,245-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with retail and technology stocks likely to fall under pressure. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the food, industrial, property, resources and technology sectors.

For the day, the index dropped 16.66 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 1,245.61 after trading between 1,240.56 and 1,261.41. Volume was 10.230 billion shares worth 56.280 billion baht. There were 323 decliners and 170 gainers, with 177 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tanked 4.07 percent, while Thailand Airport climbed 1.16 percent, Asset World shed 0.63 percent, Banpu retreated 1.75 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.62 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical fell 0.43 percent, B. Grimm declined 2.31 percent, BTS Group lost 0.83 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.95 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods plunged 5.22 percent, Energy Absolute slumped 1.41 percent, Gulf crashed 9.29 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.31 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 1.67 percent, Krung Thai Card stumbled 1.93 percent, PTT Oil & Retail weakened 1.60 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 1.95 percent, PTT Global Chemical skidded 1.03 percent, SCG Packaging plummeted 6.45 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.39 percent, Siam Concrete surrendered 2.72 percent, Thai Oil sank 1.87 percent, True Corporation retreated 3.03 percent, TTB Bank tumbled 1.98 percent and PTT and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow plummeted 450,94 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 44,176.65, while the NASDAQ stumbled 93.89 points or 0.47 percent to close at 19,962.36 and the S&P 500 sank 26.63 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,117.52.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), which came under pressure after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.

Traders may also have been looking to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.

On the economic front, the Labor Department noted a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, as supply disruptions in Russia and drop in gasoline and distillate fuel stocks supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures closed higher by $32 or 0.44 percent at $72.57 a barrel.