Thai Shares Expected To Open To The Downside On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering almost 10 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it's looking at a soft start on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, ahead of key economic and earnings data later this week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the food, finance, property, service and technology sectors. For the day, the index added 7.95 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 1,452.20 after trading between 1,443.56 and 1,453.70. Volume was 9.027 billion shares worth 49.414 billion baht. There were 326 gainers and 178 decliners, with 162 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info improved 0.75 percent, while Thailand Airport sank 0.39 percent, Asset World slumped 1.08 percent, Banpu rallied 1.47 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.66 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical perked 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway picked up 1.23 percent, B. Grimm gained 0.44 percent, BTS Group perked 0.89 percent, CP All Public spiked 1.56 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods jumped 2.04 percent, Energy Absolute accelerated 2.33 percent, Gulf increased 0.85 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.33 percent, Krung Thai Card climbed 1.05 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gathered 0.60 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.37 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.45 percent, Siam Concrete strengthened 1.65 percent, Thai Oil was up 0.98 percent, True Corporation advanced 0.91 percent, TTB Bank plunged 3.09 percent and Krung Thai Bank, PTT Global Chemical, SCG Packaging and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and only moved lower as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 398.51 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 41,954.24, while the NASDAQ plunged 213.95 points or 1.18 percent to close at 17,923.90 and the S&P 500 sank 55.13 points or 0.96 percent to end at 5,695.94.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders reassessed their expectations for the outlook on interest rates. After Friday's upbeat jobs data, traders now expect only a quarter-point cut in interest rates at the Federal Reserve's next policy announcement on Nov. 7.

The mood is cautious as investors await readings on consumer price and producer price inflation later in the week, as well as earnings announcements from several top banks.

On the geopolitical front, Israeli defense forces intensified air strikes targeting Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut simultaneously on the first anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack in Israel, which triggered the Middle East war.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid the rising possibility of disruptions in supply in the Persian Gulf due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $2.76 or 3.71 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close in nearly eight weeks.