Thai Stock Market Tipped To Extend Wednesday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,625-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the FOMC's rate decision. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index eased 0.71 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 1,625.02 after trading between 1,622.30 and 1,630.56. Volume was 18.442 billion shares worth 66.483 billion baht. There were 1,001 decliners and 541 gainers, with 650 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.52 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.67 percent, Banpu sank 0.79 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.34 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical and PTT Global Chemical both jumped 1.69 percent, Bangkok Expressway strengthened 1.62 percent, B Grimm lost 0.72 percent, CP All Public advanced 0.83 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.98 percent, Energy Absolute rose 0.26 percent, Gulf increased 0.49 percent, IRPC gained 0.63 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.34 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slipped 0.27 percent, SCG Packaging surged 3.27 percent, Thai Oil improved 0.45 percent, True Corporation was up 0.40 percent and TMB Bank, Asset World, BTS Group, Krung Thai Bank, Krung Thai Card, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Concrete were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages hugged the line for most of Wednesday's session but turned sharply lower after the FOMC decision.

The Dow plunged 505.44 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 32,147.76, while the NASDAQ tumbled 366.05 points or 3.36 percent to close at 10,524.80 and the S&P 500 slumped 96.41 points or 2.50 percent to end at 3,759.69.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points in an effort to rein in inflation.

The Fed noted that future rate hikes will "take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments."

But comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell tamped down optimism about the outlook for interest rates: "It is very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing our rate hikes. We have a ways to go."

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed declines in crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December climbed $1.63 or 1.8 percent at $90.00 a barrel.