Thai Stock Market May Take Further Damage On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had given up more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,560-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on further escalating tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SET finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses among the food, consumer, finance, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index dropped 20.55 points or 1.30 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,563.59 after peaking at 1,591.59. Volume was 10.020 billion shares worth 52.789 billion baht. There were 361 decliners and 110 gainers, with 185 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info declined 1.39 percent, while Asset World tanked 2.46 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.59 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical and CP All Public both lost 0.55 percent, B. Grimm tumbled 2.11 percent, BTS Group advanced 0.99 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.53 percent, Energy Absolute plunged 3.73 percent, Gulf skidded 1.18 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.51 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 1.43 percent, Krung Thai Card slumped 0.83 percent, PTT Oil & Retail stumbled 2.42 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 1.04 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rose 0.36 percent, Siam Concrete fell 0.43 percent, TTB Bank sank 0.87 percent and PTT Global Chemical, SCG Packaging, True Corporation, Banpu, PTT, Thai Oil, Thailand Airport and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and continued trend deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow tumbled 953.33 points or 1.87 percent to finish at 49,918.78, while the NASDAQ tanked 509.32 points or 1.98 percent to end at 25,169.50 and the S&P 500 slumped 119.66 points or 1.62 percent.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as President Donald Trump ramped up his threats against Iran following a recent exchange of attacks.

Trump's latest threats came after U.S. Central Command said forces completed "self-defense strikes" against Iran on Tuesday at the president's direction in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in May. Core consumer price growth also matches expectations.

Crude oil prices surged Wednesday on concerns about the gulf conflict intensifying further after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks, keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $2.26 or 2.56 percent at $90.46 per barrel.