Thai Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 25 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,345-point plateau and the losses are likely to accelerate on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on disappointing data and continued weakness from technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SET finished barely lower on Thursday as losses from the consumer and technology stocks were offset by support from the food, finance and resource sectors.

For the day, the index eased 0.31 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,346.23 after trading between 1,338.32 and 1,351.98. Volume was 8.446 billion shares worth 57.388 billion baht. There were 247 decliners and 174 gainers, with 244 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tumbled 1.87 percent, while Thailand Airport dropped 0.96 percent, Asset World soared 3.54 percent, Banpu stumbled 1.85 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.64 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical vaulted 2.51 percent, B. Grimm sank 0.75 percent, BTS Group gained 1.85 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.69 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.49 percent, Gulf strengthened 1.52 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.88 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rallied 1.48 percent, PTT accelerated 1.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical increased 1.00 percent, SCG Packaging shed 0.50 percent, Siam Commercial Bank climbed 1.11 percent, Siam Concrete lost 0.47 percent, True Corporation expanded 0.83 percent, TTB Bank advanced 1.01 percent and Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, Energy Absolute, PTT Exploration and Production, Thai Oil and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and spent the entire session in the red, ending near daily lows.

The Dow tumbled 592.58 points or 1.20 percent to finish at 48,908.72, while the NASDAQ sank 363.99 points or 1.59 percent to end at 22,540.59 and the S&P 500 shed 84.32 points or 1.23 percent to close at 6,798.40.

Weakness among tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street amid losses from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Qualcomm (QCOM), which provided disappointing guidance.

Tech stocks have moved sharply lower over the past few sessions amid concerns about valuations and the impact of artificial intelligence.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose much more than expected last week. The Labor Department also said job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in over five years in December.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday after weak U.S. jobs data increased demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.87 or 2.87 percent at $63.27 per barrel.