The Thai stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, diving more than 45 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,790-point plateau, although the market is looking at a firm lead for Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive as analysts believe this week's brutal selloff has been seriously overdone. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board - particularly among the financials and energy producers.
For the day, the index shed 21.89 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 1,788.43 after trading between 1,758.31 and 1,792.17. Volume was 17.556 billion shares worth 124.498 billion baht. There were 1,253 decliners and 317 gainers, with 262 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info skidded 1.29 percent, while Thailand Airport lost 0.72 percent, Bangkok Bank slid 0.96 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.43 percent, Kasikornbank dipped 0.44 percent, Krung Thai Bank tumbled 1.01 percent, PTT plummeted 3.20 percent, PTT Exploration and Production retreated 1.26 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plunged 1.30 percent and PTT Global Chemical and Banpu were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks saw considerable volatility on Tuesday before ending firmly in positive territory, denting the sell-off in the previous session.
The Dow jumped 567.02 points or 2.33 percent to 24,912.77, while the NASDAQ surged 148.36 points or 2.13 percent to 7,115.88 and the S&P climbed 46.20 points or 1.74 percent to 2,695.14.
The volatility seen for most of the session came as traders seemed to question the near-term outlook for the markets. Some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels, while others wondered if the recent pullback would continue.
Railroad stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, while computer hardware, semiconductor and chemical stocks also saw solid gains.
Crude oil futures continued to fall Tuesday, even as U.S. stocks were found their footing after the biggest one-day drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. A report from the Energy Information Administration said U.S. production will rise in the next two years, denting oil prices.
March WTI crude was down 30 cents or 0.5 percent at $63.85 a barrel. WTI crude will average $58.28 a barrel this year, the EIA said, up from last month's estimate of $55.33, and $57.51 in 2019.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com