Losing Streak Likely To Continue For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Wednesday's holiday for Asarnha Bucha Day, the Thai stock market had finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,545-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns about 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 modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the energy producers and a mixed picture from the financial shares,

For the day, the index shed 10.60 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 1,546.80 after trading between 1,542.95 and 1,556.90. Volume was 16.793 billion shares worth 47.877 billion baht. There were 1,151 decliners and 458 gainers, with 481 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.49 percent, while Thailand Airport skidded 1.06 percent, Asset World declined 1.23 percent, Banpu sank 0.78 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.38 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.57 percent, B. Grimm slid 0.66 percent, BTS Group fell 0.58 percent, CP All Public dipped 0.40 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tumbled 1.89 percent, Energy Absolute weakened 1.27 percent, Gulf slipped 0.52 percent, IRPC declined 0.62 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.34 percent, Krung Thai Card plunged 2.25 percent, PTT Oil & Retail surrendered 1.94 percent, PTT was down 0.74 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 0.93 percent, PTT Global Chemical retreated 1.11 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plummeted 1.96 percent, Siam Concrete slumped 1.06 percent, Thai Oil eased 0.49 percent, True Corporation tanked 1.69 percent, TTB Bank decreased 1.71 percent and Krung Thai Bank and SCG Packaging were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, flirted with the unchanged line before finally ending with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 208.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,772.79, while the NASDAQ eased 17.15 points or 0.15 percent to end at 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.45 percent to close at 3,801.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The bigger than expected jump in inflation has solidified expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points later this month and increases the likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike in September.

Later in the day, the Fed released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, which noted U.S. economic activity has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.