The Thai stock market on Friday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gained more than seven points or 0.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,480-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is hanging on the emergence of economic stimulus in the United States, which traders hope will pass in the hours leading up to today's market open. The European and U.S, markets ended in the red on Friday and the Asian markets will have a similarly soft lead until a coronavirus relief bill passes.
The SET finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.
For the day, the index eased 1.51 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,482.38 after trading between 1,475.01 and 1,489.78. Volume was 23.061 billion shares worth 117.095 billion baht. There were 1,058 decliners and 562 gainers, with 393 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.79 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 1.52 percent, Bangkok Bank tanked 2.72 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical skidded 1.36 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.55 percent, BTS Group jumped 1.94 percent, Gulf gained 0.70 percent, IRPC declined 1.56 percent, Kasikornbank tumbled 2.06 percent, Krung Thai Bank lost 0.84 percent, PTT perked 1.18 percent, PTT Exploration and Production declined 1.47 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 0.28 percent, Siam Concrete sank 0.52 percent, TMB Bank was down 0.84 percent and PTT Global Chemical, Asset World and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened slightly lower on Friday and remained mostly in the red throughout the session
The Dow shed 124.35 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 30,179.05, while the NASDAQ eased 9.06 points or 0.07 percent to close at 12,755.64 and the S&P 500 fell 13.07 points or 0.35 percent to close at 3,709.41. For the week, the Dow added 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 3.1 percent and the S&P rose 1.3 percent.
The pullback on Wall Street partly reflected profit taking, as traders cashed in on recent gains after Thursday's climb to record closing highs. Apprehension for a coronavirus relief bill also nudged stocks lower.
Upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine front helped limit the downside for the markets, with an FDA advisory panel giving a positive recommendation to Moderna's (MRNA) vaccine candidate.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday amid dwindling inventories and on that hopes energy demand will pick up after another coronavirus vaccine got the nod from the U.S. drug regulator. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up $0.74 or 1.5 percent at $49.10 a barrel.
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