Thai Shares May Head South Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 1.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,375-point plateau although it may face renewed consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with technology and oil companies expected to be under pressure. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the food, finance, property and technology sectors were offset by weakness from the consumer, industrial and resource companies.

For the day, the index rose 4.74 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,377.23 after trading between 1,369.63 and 1,379.51. Volume was 19.036 billion shares worth 41.030 billion baht. There were 289 gainers and 195 decliners, with 176 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info slumped 1.44 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.77 percent, Asset World surged 3.05 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.08 percent, Bangkok Expressway increased 0.62 percent, B. Grimm dropped 0.90 percent, BTS Group advanced 0.88 percent, CP All Public gathered 0.46 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.54 percent, Energy Absolute added 0.72 percent, Gulf lost 0.56 percent, Kasikornbank soared 2.46 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.60 percent, Krung Thai Card spiked 2.22 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.56 percent, PTT sank 0.74 percent, PTT Global Chemical retreated 1.28 percent, SCG Packaging improved 0.86 percent, Siam Concrete strengthened 1.20 percent, Thai Oil rose 0.43 percent, True Corporation jumped 1.92 percent and TTB Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Banpu, PTT Exploration and Production and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the green before a late slump sent them all under water at the close.

The Dow shed 31.31 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 39,282.33, while the NASDAQ lost 68.80 points or 0.42 percent to close at 16,315.70 and the S&P 500 fell 14.61 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,203.58.

The late-day weakness on Wall Street may have reflected concerns about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore.

Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, leading to the bridge's collapse.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in February. Also, the Conference Board noted a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in March.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday with traders assessing oil demand and supply positions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.33 at $81.62 a barrel.