The Thai stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which hit had gathered more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,625-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, due mainly to profit taking and sinking crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are predicted to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the technology and energy companies, while the financials were mixed.
For the day, the index slid 8.36 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,627.61 after trading between 1,626.56 and 1,635.68. Volume was 27.683 billion shares worth 69.387 billion baht. There were 1,207 decliners and 468 gainers, with 565 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.53 percent, while Bangkok Bank sank 0.81 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.84 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.57 percent, CP All Public retreated 1.17 percent, Delta Electronics plunged 3.49 percent, Gulf skidded 1.16 percent, IRPC declined 1.35 percent, Kasikornbank slid 0.36 percent, Krung Thai Bank lost 0.85 percent, Krung Thai Card fell 0.87 percent, PTT surrendered 1.27 percent, PTT Exploration and Production tanked 2.02 percent, PTT Global Chemical tumbled 1.92 percent, SCG Packaging climbed 1.17 percent, Siam Concrete gained 0.76 percent, True Corporation was down 0.97 percent, TTB Bank collected 1.75 percent and Thailand Airport, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods, PTT Oil & Retail and Siam Commercial Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages took different paths on Wednesday. The NASDAQ opened higher and finished the same way, albeit barely. The Dow spent most of the session in the red and the S&P 500 hugged the unchanged line before both ended in negative territory.
The Dow dropped 266.19 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 35,490.69, while the NASDAQ rose 0.12 points or 0.00 percent to close at 15,235.84 and the S&P 500 fell 23.11 points or 0.51 percent to end at 4,551.68.
While a mixed reaction to the latest earnings news contributed to choppy trading, traders also looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets in late-day trading as the Dow and S&P eased from record highs.
Corporate earnings were mixed as companies like Twitter (TWTR) and General Motors (GM) disappointed, while Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) beat the street.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders pulled back by much less than expected in September.
Crude oil prices sank Wednesday after data showed a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Oil prices were also weighed down by prospects of Iran freeing itself from U.S. sanctions and start selling oil to major importers again. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December were down by $1.99 or 2.3 percent at $82.66 a barrel.
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