The Thai stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 40 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,625-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the green on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is positive, mostly on bargain hunting following heavy selling last week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the energy companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index dropped 6.67 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 1,627.35 after trading between 1,624.62 and 1,635.35. Volume was 15.287 billion shares worth 54.206 billion baht. There were 1,049 decliners and 420 gainers, with 513 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.50 percent, while Thailand Airport slid 0.34 percent, Asset World slipped 0.83 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical plunged 2.56 percent, B. Grimm slumped 1.29 percent, BTS Group lost 0.63 percent, CP All Public advanced 0.81 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.88 percent, Energy Absolute rose 0.32 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.37 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.75 percent, PTT Oil & Retail stumbled 1.78 percent, PTT retreated 1.54 percent, PTT Exploration and Production was down 0.33 percent, Siam Commercial Bank jumped 1.97 percent, Siam Concrete weakened 0.91 percent, Thai Oil dove 0.48 percent and TTB Bank, Banpu, Krung Thai Bank, PTT Global Chemical, SCG Packaging, Bangkok Expressway and Gulf were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened sharply higher on Monday, faded as the day progressed but still finished with modest gains.
The Dow added 72.17 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 32,889.09, while the NASDAQ advanced 72.04 points or 0.63 percent to close at 11,466.98 and the S&P 500 rose 12.20 points or 0.31 percent to end at 3,982.24.
The early rally on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop last week.
However, buying interest waned over the course of the session as traders expressed concerns about the outlook for interest rates as recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve will raise rates more than anticipated.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a sharp pullback in new orders for durable goods in January. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. spiked by more than expected in January.
Crude oil prices pulled back Monday, handing back recent gains on concerns that higher interest rates will tip the global economy into a recession. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slid $0.64 or 0.8 percent to $75.68 a barrel.
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