Thai Stock Market Poised To Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slipping almost 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,415-point plateau and it's likely to open under pressure again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the food, industrial, resource and service sectors, while the financials and technology stocks offered support.

For the day, the index dipped 3.52 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,414.93 after trading between 1,414.42 and 1,428.44. Volume was 14.796 billion shares worth 42.607 billion baht. There were 276 decliners and 197 gainers, with 174 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 1.40 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.40 percent, Banpu tanked 2.26 percent, Bangkok Expressway slumped 0.63 percent, B. Grimm tumbled 1.90 percent, BTS Group was up 0.69 percent, CP All Public retreated 1.36 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Krung Thai Bank both shed 0.53 percent, Energy Absolute surrendered 2.81 percent, Gulf lost 0.56 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.38 percent, Krung Thai Card climbed 1.14 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.52 percent, PTT declined 0.70 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rose 0.67 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.69 percent, SCG Packaging sank 0.71 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.95 percent, True Corporation dropped 0.96 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.84 percent and Bangkok Bank, Thai Oil and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and largely stayed under water, although the NASDAQ managed to break barely into the green.

The Dow shed 157.85 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 37,525.16, while the NASDAQ rose 13.94 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,857.71 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.04 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,756.50.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on Monday's strong gains amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged later this month, traders have recently become increasingly skeptical about whether the central bank will cut rates in March.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in November.

Oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as rising geopolitical risks raised concerns about possible supply and trade disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled higher by $1.47 at $72.24 a barrel.