Thai Stock Market May Open In The Red On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,335-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the food, finance, property, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index climbed 14.69 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 1,336.11 after trading between 1,328.27 and 1,336.11. Volume was 8.716 billion shares worth 57.100 billion baht. There were 324 gainers and 140 decliners, with 193 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info gained 0.56 percent, while Thailand Airport vaulted 1.47 percent, Asset World rallied 2.73 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical slumped 1.01 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 0.97 percent, B. Grimm soared 4.69 percent, BTS Group was up 0.92 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.72 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.49 percent, Gulf improved 0.53 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.27 percent, PTT Oil & Retail increased 0.75 percent, PTT expanded 0.73 percent, PTT Exploration and Production and PTT Global Chemical both sank 0.81 percent, SCG Packaging shed 0.51 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.37 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 2.94 percent, Thai Oil advanced 0.59 percent, True Corporation strengthened 1.71 percent, TTB Bank added 0.51 percent and Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Krung Thai Card, Banpu and Energy Absolute were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day largely under water.

The Dow dropped 166.67 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 49,240.99, while the NASDAQ tumbled 336.92 points or 1.43 percent to close at 23,255.19 and the S&P 500 sank 58.63 points or 0.84 percent to end at 6,917.81.

The weakness on Wall Street was largely due to a rotation out of technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the NASDAQ.

The U.S. Software Index slumped to its lowest closing level in over nine months, while substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks.

Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid a significant rebound by the price of the precious metal. Steel, energy and housing stocks also moved notably higher on the day, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower, while news of the U.S.-India trade agreement has led to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.10 or 1.77 percent at $63.24 per barrel.