The Thai stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sliding more than 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,560-point plateau although it's expected to stop the bleeding on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is mostly positive on optimism for earnings - especially tech shares - although coronavirus concerns in India may cap the upside. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the energy producers and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index rose 5.94 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 1,559.53 after trading between 1,544.10 and 1,561.52. Volume was 32.812 billion shares worth 83.672 billion baht. There were 1,0001 decliners and 636 gainers, with 425 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.86 percent, while Thailand Airport advanced 0.79 percent, Asset World tanked 2.99 percent, Bangkok Asset Management shed 0.49 percent, Bangkok Bank lost 0.41 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.83 percent, Bangkok Expressway sank 0.62 percent, BTS Group skidded 1.11 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 0.86 percent, Kasikornbank slid 0.38 percent, PTT Oil & Retail declined 1.67 percent, PTT Exploration and Production climbed 0.88 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 3.24 percent, SCG Packaging added 0.51 percent, Siam Commercial Bank surrendered 0.96 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 1.40 percent, TMB Bank collected 0.86 percent and PTT, Gulf and Krung Thai Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened in the green on Monday although the Dow was unable to hold its gains at the end of the day.
The Dow slipped 61.92 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 33,981.57, while the NASDAQ jumped 121.97 points or 0.87 percent to end at 14,138.78 and the S&P 500 rose 7.45 points or 0.18 percent to close at 4,187.62.
Tech stocks led the markets higher amid optimism ahead of the release of quarterly results from a number of big-name companies later this week.
Buying interest was subdued, however, as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The Fed is widely expected to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy, but traders will be paying close attention to any changes to the accompanying statement that may signal a shift in the near future.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased by less than expected in March.
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday amid continues worries about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases in India. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.23 or 0.4 percent at $61.91 a barrel.
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