Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in six straight sessions, advancing more than 45 points or 2.8 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,645-point plateau although investors are likely to cash in on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft amid concerns over the health of the world economy and the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index rose 4.12 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,647.28 after trading between 1,641.54 and 1,649.42. Volume was 13.314 billion shares worth 47.115 billion baht. There were 720 gainers and 631 decliners, with 625 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info perked 0.26 percent, while Asset World improved 0.80 percent, Banpu rallied 2.24 percent, Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank both collected 0.34 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.75 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.51 percent, B. Grimm strengthened 1.27 percent, BTS Group added 0.60 percent, CP All Public fell 0.37 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods lost 0.41 percent, IRPC gained 0.66 percent, Krung Thai Card rose 0.42 percent, PTT Oil & Retail advanced 0.85 percent, PTT gathered 0.77 percent, PTT Global Chemical increased 0.53 percent, SCG Packaging was up 0.44 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.29 percent, Thai Oil sank 0.44 percent, TTB Bank improved 0.73 percent and Thailand Airport, Energy Absolute, Gulf, Krung Thai Bank, PTT Exploration and Production and True Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages shook off a slightly higher open on Wednesday, quickly heading south and finishing firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 365.85 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 32,875.71, while the NASDAQ slumped 139.94 points or 1.35 percent to close at 10,213.29 and the S&P 500 sank 46.03 points or 1.20 percent to end at 3,783.22.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected ongoing concerns about the economic outlook and the possibility of higher interest rates leading to a recession.

However, with many traders away from their desks amid the holidays, the sell-off on Wall Street may have been exaggerated by below average volume.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a continued slump in U.S. pending home sales in November.

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a global recession and rising COVID-19 cases in China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.57 or 0.7 percent at $78.86 a barrel.