The Thai stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,565-point plateau and it may tick lower again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed coronavirus concerns and sinking crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday following losses from the energy producer, support from the cement companies and a mixed picture from the financials.
For the day, the index dipped 2.11 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 1,564.25 after trading between 1,562.03 and 1,574.14. Volume was 32.671 billion shares worth 93.389 billion baht. There were 1,045 decliners and 601 gainers, with 411 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info fell 0.29 percent, while Asset World tumbled 1.90 percent, Bangkok Asset Management skidded 1.36 percent, Bangkok Bank sank 0.79 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.57 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tanked 2.50 percent, Gulf lost 0.75 percent, Kasikornbank slid 0.69 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.83 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 1.57 percent, PTT retreated 0.62 percent, PTT Exploration and Production declined 1.31 percent, PTT Global Chemical surrendered 1.16 percent, SCG Packaging surged 4.40 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.46 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 2.12 percent, TMB Bank plunged 2.42 percent and Thailand Airport, Bangkok Dusit Medical and BTS Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened in the red on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed.
The Dow tumbled 308.05 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 32,423.15, while the NASDAQ plunged 149.84 points or 1.12 percent to end at 13,227.70 and the S&P 500 sank 30.07 points or 0.76 percent to close at 3,910.52.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street partly reflected concerns about extended coronavirus lockdowns in Europe amid worries a new wave of infections. German leaders agreed to extend the country's lockdown until April 18, raising doubts about demand from Europe's largest economy.
Traders also kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's virtual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. Powell reiterated the Fed's recent assessment that indicators of economic activity have turned up recently.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said U.S. new home sales plummeted in February, hitting a nine-month low.
Crude oil prices tanked on Tuesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the extension of lockdown measures in several parts of Europe. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $3.80 or 6.2 percent at $57.76 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will provide February data for imports, exports and trade balance and January jobless figures later today. In January, imports were down 5.24 percent on year and exports rose 0.35 percent for a trade deficit of $0.2 billion. In December, the unemployment rate was 1.5 percent.
The Thai central bank will also wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 0.50 percent.
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