Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Tuesday's holiday for Asarnha Bucha Day, the Thai stock market had moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,555-point plateau although investors may cash in on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with oil and technology stocks likely to lead the way lower. 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 higher on Monday following gains from the technology, food, energy and financial shares.

For the day, the index advanced 12.79 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 1,556.06 after trading between 1,547.62 and 1,559.07. Volume was 14.527 billion shares worth 56.280 billion baht. There were 305 gainers and 165 decliners, with 171 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info gathered 0.89 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Asset World was up 1.36 percent, Banpu perked 0.52 percent, Bangkok Bank advanced 0.88 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 1.11 percent, BTS Group soared 3.85 percent, CP All Public added 1.20 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods spiked 2.53 percent, Energy Absolute soared 3.77 percent, Gulf shed 0.50 percent, Kasikornbank improved 0.80 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.49 percent, Krung Thai Card skidded 1.05 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rallied 1.42 percent, PTT perked 0.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical gained 0.64 percent, SCG Packaging increased 1.25 percent, Siam Commercial Bank strengthened 1.35 percent, Siam Concrete added 0.93 percent, Thai Oil surged 3.54 percent, True Corporation rose 0.69 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.78 percent and B. Grimm, PTT Exploration and Production and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished the same way.

The Dow advanced 71.15 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,630.68, while the NASDAQ sank 62.11 points or 0.43 percent to close at 14,283.91 and the S&P 500 fell 12.23 points or 0.27 percent to end at 4,576.73.

The modest weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last month.

Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in July. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday thanks to a firm dollar and data showing a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.43 at $81.37 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Thailand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, from 2.00 percent to 2.25 percent.