Lower Open Called For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 20 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,260-point plateau although it figures to open in the red on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit-taking likely on the menu. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are also expected to open under water.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the food, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors. For the day, the index gained 9.28 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 1,262.67 after trading between 1,260.76 and 1,268.13. Volume was 8.601 billion shares worth 39.908 billion baht. There were 290 gainers and 173 decliners, with 196 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Thailand Airport added 1.33 percent, while Asset World dropped 0.83 percent, Banpu slipped 0.41 percent, Bangkok Bank lost 0.64 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical slipped 0.48 percent, B. Grimm surged 5.79 percent, BTS Group was up 1.17 percent, CP All Public increased 1.67 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.41 percent, Energy Absolute jumped 1.52 percent, Gulf accelerated 1.58 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.42 percent, Krung Thai Card rallied 2.70 percent, PTT and PTT Oil & Retail both improved 0.78 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.89 percent, PTT Global Chemical advanced 0.93 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 0.55 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.39 percent, Siam Concrete strengthened 1.35 percent, Thai Oil soared 2.34 percent, True Corporation retreated 0.85 percent, TTB Bank sank 0.52 percent and Kasikornbank, Advanced Info and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and spent most of the day under water, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow stumbled 349.27 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 45,282.47, while the NASDAQ sank 47.24 points or 0.22 percent to close at 21,449.29 and the S&P 500 lost 27.59 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,439.32.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last Friday, which lifted the Dow to a new record closing high.

The rally seen during last Friday's session came as remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seemed to indicate the central bank is likely to lower interest rates next month.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a repot this morning showing new home sales in the U.S. decreased from an upwardly revised level in July.

Crude oil jumped on Monday, on concerns that Western sanctions on Russian oil exports may continue longer than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.20 or 1.89 percent at $64.86 per barrel.