Losing Streak May Continue For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has tracked lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than 35 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,520-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, technology, property, energy, packaging and industrial sectors, while the financials offered support.

For the day, the index sank 15.47 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 1,522.12 after trading between 1,517.51 and 1,534.73. Volume was 13.171 billion shares worth 43.097 billion baht. There were 458 decliners and 75 gainers, with 114 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info declined 1.37 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Asset World surrendered 2.97 percent, Banpu shed 0.55 percent, Bangkok Bank advanced 0.93 percent, Bangkok Expressway sank 0.59 percent, B. Grimm retreated 1.37 percent, BTS Group slumped 2.63 percent, CP All Public skidded 1.17 percent, Energy Absolute plummeted 6.48 percent, Gulf stumbled 2.70 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.39 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.51 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.47 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 0.99 percent, PTT Global Chemical tanked 2.58 percent, SCG Packaging plunged 3.80 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gained 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete tumbled 1.81 percent, True Corporation plunged 2.24 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Krung Thai Card, PTT, Thai Oil and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street remains weak as the major averages opened lower again on Wednesday and largely stayed that way, ending near session lows.

The Dow dropped 102.35 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 33,951.52, while the NASDAQ tumbled 165.10 points or 1.21 percent to close at 13,502.20 and the S&P 500 shed 23.02 points or 0.52 percent to end at 4,365.69.

Renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the weakness on Wall Street following remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell reiterated the Fed is likely to continue raising interest rates in an effort to contain stubbornly elevated inflation.

The Fed left rates unchanged last week, but the central bank's latest projections suggest it plans to resume raising rates later this year, forecasting a rate of 5.6 percent by the end of 2023. If the Fed decided to revert to its recent quarter-point increases, the forecast suggests the central bank will raise rates two more times this year.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday amid hopes about the outlook for demand in the U.S. and forecasts for a drawdown in U.S. crude stocks last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.34 at $72.53 a barrel, recovering from a low of $70.80.