Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,670-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on geopolitical concerns and fears over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy companies.

For the day, the index gained 10.94 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 1,668.83 after trading between 1,652.25 and 1,669.51. Volume was 14.539 billion shares worth 66.040 billion baht. There were 855 gainers and 682 decliners, with 523 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.48 percent, while Banpu rallied 1.80 percent, Bangkok Bank gained 0.61 percent, Bangkok Expressway increased 0.54 percent, B. Grimm sank 0.63 percent, BTS Group strengthened 1.85 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.95 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods gathered 1.33 percent, Energy Absolute tumbled 2.11 percent, Gulf advanced 0.93 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.36 percent, Krung Thai Bank accelerated 1.74 percent, Krung Thai Card picked up 0.85 percent, PTT Oil & Retail soared 2.22 percent, PTT improved 0.76 percent, PTT Exploration and Production lost 0.62 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.51 percent, SCG Packaging gathered 1.44 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.29 percent, Thai Oil rose 0.44 percent, TTB Bank was up 0.71 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical, Thailand Airport and Asset World were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plummeted 697.10 points or 2.06 percent to finish at 33,129.59, while the NASDAQ plunged 294.97 points or 2.50 percent to close at 11,492.30 and the S&P 500 tumbled 81.75 points or 2.00 percent to end at 3,997.34.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates amid a spike in treasury yields. The benchmark 10-year yield more than offset the dip seen last Friday, reaching its highest closing level in three months.

Recent economic data has also led to worries the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than expected and keep them elevated for an extended period. Later today, the Fed will release minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which could shed some light on the outlook for interest rates.

Geopolitical concerns also weighed after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is suspending Russia's participation in a nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. The announcement by Putin comes after U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Monday.

Crude oil prices were volatile on Tuesday as traders weighed the impact of higher U.S. interest rates against optimism about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery dipped $0.16 or 0.2 percent to $76.16 a barrel, while crude for April delivery eased $0.19 or 0.3 percent to $76.29 a barrel.