Thai Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 20 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,300-point plateau although it may hand back those gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected especially among the technology shares. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the food, finance, industrial, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index climbed 19.60 points or 1.52 percent to finish at 1,305.24 after trading between 1,291.90 and 1,310.68. Volume was 7.950 billion shares worth 34.987 billion baht. There were 315 gainers and 139 decliners, with 201 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info perked 0.34 percent, while Thailand Airport surged 2.41 percent, Asset World advanced 0.90 percent, Banpu and PTT Exploration and Production both increased 0.44 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.68 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical vaulted 2.01 percent, Bangkok Expressway accelerated 1.90 percent, B. Grimm expanded 1.41 percent, BTS Group was up 0.65 percent, CP All Public climbed 1.05 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods strengthened 1.33 percent, Energy Absolute sank 0.62 percent, Gulf soared 2.34 percent, Kasikornbank added 0.61 percent, Krung Thai Card rallied 2.42 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gained 0.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical spiked 2.82 percent, SCG Packaging improved 1.66 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rose 0.40 percent, Siam Concrete slumped 1.33 percent, Thai Oil gathered 0.71 percent, True Corporation stumbled 2.65 percent and TTB Bank, Krung Thai Bank and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south and spent the balance of the day in the red, ending near session lows.

The Dow slumped 91.99 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 46,602.98, while the NASDAQ dropped 153.30 points or 0.67 percent to end at 22,788.36 and the S&P 500 sank 25.69 points or 0.38 percent to close at 6,714.59.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which saw the S&P 500 close higher for seven straight sessions.

A slump by shares of Oracle (ORCL) also weighed on the markets following reports that raised questions about the profitability of its artificial intelligence rollout.

Lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which has led to the indefinite delay of U.S. economic data, including the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report.

Crude oil prices crept slightly higher on Tuesday, despite forecasts of weakening oil demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.02 or 0.03 percent at $61.71 per barrel.

Closer to home, The central bank on Thailand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the bank is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 1.50 percent.