The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,700-point plateau and it may see a mild recovery on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with traders waiting on the FOMC's interest rate decision later today. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday as a mixed performance from the financial shares was tempered by support from the energy producers.
For the day, the index shed 4.35 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,702.17 after trading between 1,699.98 and 1,710.80. Volume was 8.381 billion shares worth 52.256 billion baht. There were 909 decliners and 409 gainers, with 404 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.85 percent, while Thailand Airport shed 0.40 percent, Banpu gained 0.59 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.49 percent, Bangkok Medical jumped 1.41 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.65 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods climbed 1.67 percent, Kasikornbank skidded 0.88 percent, PTT spiked 1.42 percent, PTT Exploration and Production advanced 0.80 percent, PTT Global Chemical gathered 0.61 percent, Minor International tumbled 1.18 percent and Siam Concrete and Krung Thai Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks were fairly rangebound on Tuesday, eventually finishing on opposite sides of the unchanged line - although the Dow and the S&P hit fresh record closing highs.
The Dow added 118.77 points or 0.49 percent to 24,504.80, while the NASDAQ fell 12.76 points or 0.19 percent to 6,862.32 and the S&P 500 gained 4.12 points or 0.15 percent to 2,664.11.
Traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve later today.
With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter-point, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement as well as outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen's press conference for clues about the outlook for future rate hikes.
by RTT Staff Writer
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