Thai Shares Expected To Open Under Pressure On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for Chulalongkorn, the Thai stock market had finished lower in back-to-back sessions, dropping almost 40 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,400-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start as it catches up on missed sentiment.

The global forecast offers little clarity with few catalysts head of data later in the week, although treasury yields continue to be active. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The SET finished sharply lower on Friday with damage across the board, especially among the food, technology and industrial sectors.

For the day, the index stumbled 23.69 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 1,399.35 after trading between 1,397.80 and 1,422.33. Volume was 11.971 billion shares worth 52.997 billion baht. There were 508 decliners and 61 gainers, with 84 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 2.65 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 1.84 percent, Asset World tanked 2.79 percent, Banpu skidded 1.27 percent, Bangkok Bank and CP All Public both dropped 0.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway surrendered 2.44 percent, B. Grimm crashed 4.68 percent, BTS Group slumped 1.32 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 1.61 percent, Energy Absolute lost 2.67 percent, Gulf shed 2.33 percent, Kasikornbank spiked 1.98 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.52 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.55 percent, PTT Oil & Retail fell 1.66 percent, PTT slid 0.75 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 1.17 percent, PTT Global Chemical declined 1.48 percent, SCG Packaging stumbled 1.43 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plunged 3.62 percent, Siam Concrete weakened 1.38 percent, Thai Oil dipped 2.48 percent, True Corporation plummeted 3.68 percent, TTB Bank collected 0.58 percent and Bangkok Dusit Medical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened lower on Monday, broke into the green my midday before fading and ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow slumped 190.87 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 32,936.41, while the NASDAQ added 34.52 points or 0.27 percent to close at 13,018.33 and the S&P 500 slipped 7.12 points or 0.17 percent to end at 4,217.04.

Stocks initially came under pressure as treasury yields rebounded amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Following the pullback seen last Friday, the yield on the benchmark 10year note moved back to the upside, briefly peeking above the key 5 percent level.

The subsequent turnaround on Wall Street came as treasury yields turned lower as the day progressed, with the ten-year yield falling into negative territory.

Trading activity was subdued, however, thanks to a lack of major U.S. economic data - although the calendar picks up later in the week. The earnings season also should be a factor, with a slew of big-name companies due to report their quarterly results.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday amid easing concerns about oil supply on hopes the diplomatic efforts in the Middle East will help prevent the conflict there from escalating into a bigger regional war. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November settled at $85.49, down $2.59 or about 2.94 percent.