Thai Shares May Turn Lower Again On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday halted the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,635-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over an economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.

For the day, the index climbed 17.75 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 1,633.57 after trading between 1,609.81 and 1,635.78. Volume was 19.302 billion shares worth 76.157 billion baht. There were 1,004 gainers and 695 decliners, with 546 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info fell 0.26 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Asset World spiked 3.70 percent, Banpu surged 4.32 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.11 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical soared 3.67 percent, CP All Public strengthened 1.23 percent, Energy Absolute dropped 0.91 percent, Gulf added 0.51 percent, IRPC jumped 1.73 percent, Kasikornbank advanced 0.98 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 2.48 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.86 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.93 percent, PTT perked 2.04 percent, PTT Exploration and Production accelerated 2.22 percent, PTT Global Chemical gathered 1.61 percent, SCG Packaging increased 1.33 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.97 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.28 percent, Thai Oil spiked 3.48 percent, True Corporation lost 0.84 percent, TTB Bank was up 1.67 percent and Bangkok Expressway, BTS Group, B. Grimm and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation again on Wednesday as the major averages shook off early support and finished slightly lower.

The Dow dropped 154.02 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 32,909.59, while the NASDAQ eased 0.27 points or 0.00 percent to close at 12,381.30 and the S&P 500 dipped 9.26 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,128.73.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders were cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week, which may provide clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

In economic news, Markit Economics said its manufacturing PMI slowed in August, while the services and composite PMIs contracted at an accelerated rate. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales slumped in July to their lowest reading since January 2016.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday with traders weighing the prospects of OPEC and allies cutting output to support prices in the event of Iranian crude entering the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September jumped $3.38 or 3.7 percent at $93.74 a barrel. Closer to home, Thailand will release July figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 22.6 percent on year, slowing from 24.5 percent in June. Exports are called higher by an annual 11.15 percent, easing from 11.9 percent in the previous month. The trade balance is expected to show a deficit of $1.6 billion following the $1.53 billion shortfall a month earlier.