The Thai stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,820-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat thanks to inconsistent economic data and a mild drop in crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index tumbled 19.67 points or 1.07 percent to finish at the daily low of 1,819.29 after peaking at 1,848.07. Volume was 12.172 billion shares worth 74.271 billion baht. There were 978 decliners and 416 gainers, with 364 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info skidded 2.27 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.36 percent, Banpu gained 0.47 percent, Bangkok Medical shed 0.47 percent, Bangkok Expressway gathered 0.65 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 1.24 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.33 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 0.99 percent, PTT Exploration and Production climbed 1.28 percent, PTT Global Chemical plummeted 1.53 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.64 percent, Siam Concrete fell 0.80 percent and Bangkok Bank and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks were mixed again on Thursday as the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new record closing highs, but the tech-heavy NASDAQ ended in the red.
The Dow added 140.67 points or 0.54 percent to 26,392.79, while the NASDAQ fell 3.89 points or 0.05 percent to 7,411.16 and the S&P 500 gained 1.71 points or 0.06 percent to 2,839.25.
Stocks opened higher thanks to upbeat earnings news as several big-name companies beat estimates, including 3M (MMM) and Caterpillar (CAT).
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a steep drop in new home sales in December and the Labor Department said initial jobless claims bounced off their lowest level in nearly 45 years in the week ended January 20. Also, the Conference Board reported a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading economic indicators.
Crude oil futures were flat Thursday, hovering near Wednesday's three-year highs. The dollar steadied after three-year lows, prompting some profit taking after a furious rally for most commodities. March WTI oil falls 10 cents or 0.2 percent to $65.51/bbl.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com