Thai Stock Market Tipped To Head South Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it collected more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,640-point plateau although it's likely to face renewed consolidation on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to ongoing concerns over the 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 split the difference.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and am mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index advanced 12.93 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 1,639.45 after trading between 1,627.71 and 1,641.51. Volume was 20.977 billion shares worth 68.513 billion baht, There were 986 gainers and 703 decliners, with 576 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.04 percent, while Thailand Airport jumped 1.75 percent, Asset World rallied 2.75 percent, Banpu added 0.68 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.73 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical strengthened 1.80 percent, BTS Group and Krung Thai Bank both gained 0.60 percent, CP All Public improved 1.66 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.97 percent, Energy Absolute fell 0.30 percent, Gulf increased 0.50 percent, IRPC shed 0.57 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.32 percent, Krung Thai Card gathered 0.85 percent, PTT Oil & Retail perked 0.94 percent, PTT climbed 1.33 percent, PTT Global Chemical improved 1.06 percent, Siam Commercial Bank soared 2.30 percent, Siam Concrete was up 0.28 percent, Thai Oil surged 2.44 percent, True Corporation spiked 2.21 percent and TTB Bank, Bangkok Expressway, B. Grimm, PTT Exploration and Production and SCG Packaging were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages shook off early support on Tuesday, quickly heading south and remaining in the red for the rest of the session.

The Dow tumbled 308.12 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 31,790.87, while the NASDAQ dropped 134.53 points or 1.12 percent to close at 11,883.14 and the S&P 500 sank 44.45 points or 1.10 percent to end at 3,986.16.

The extended sell-off reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the impact further rate hikes will have on the economy.

Stocks have been under pressure since Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last Friday that the central bank plans to continue aggressively raising interest rates. Powell suggested that even after the Fed finishes tightening monetary policy, rates will remain at higher levels to ensure inflation remains contained.

In economic news, the Conference Board said that consumer confidence rebounded by more than expected in August. Also, the Labor Department said the number of job openings was little changed at 11.2 million on the last business day of July.

The price of crude oil showed a substantial move to the downside during trading on Tuesday amid concerns higher interest rates will lead to a global economic slowdown, reducing energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery plunged $5.37 or 5 percent to $91.64 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will provide July numbers for industrial production, current account and coincident index later today. Forecasts suggest an increase of 8.4 percent for output following the 0.08 percent drop in June. The current account saw a deficit of $1.9 billion in June, while the coincident index had a score of 128.74.