Thai Shares May Open Under Pressure On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, slumping more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,320-point plateau and it's likely to open to the downside again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, especially among the technology and semiconductor companies. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses also figure to follow suit.

The SET finished slightly lower again on Wednesday as losses among the food, finance, industrial, property and service sectors were mitigated by support from the technology and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 1.52 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 1,319.79 after trading between 1,318.41 and 1,330.22. Volume was 10.315 billion shares worth 46.557 billion baht. There were 342 decliners and 143 gainers, with 167 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info jumped 1.82 percent, while Thailand Airport declined 1.29 percent, Banpu tanked 1.90 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.37 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical slumped 0.94 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.64 percent, B. Grimm dropped 0.89 percent, BTS Group stumbled 1.46 percent, CP All Public added 0.44 percent, Energy Absolute crashed 30.05 percent, Gulf skyrocketed 6.51 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.40 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.57 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.61 percent, PTT rallied 1.56 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slid 0.34 percent, PTT Global Chemical tumbled 1.72 percent, SCG Packaging plummeted 4.13 percent, Thai Oil retreated 1.43 percent, True Corporation skidded 1.10 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Siam Commercial Bank, Krung Thai Card, Siam Concrete and Asset World were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a study in contrasts as the Dow opened higher and stayed that way, hitting a fresh record high - while the NASDAQ and S&P remained mired in the red.

The Dow soared 243.60 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 41,198.08, while the NASDAQ plummeted 512.42 points or 2.77 percent to close at 17.996.92 and the S&P 500 tumbled 78.93 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,588.27.

Wall Street was led lower by semiconductor stocks, which plummeted on reports that President Joe Biden's administration is considering tougher trade rules against companies in its chip crackdown on China.

Negative sentiment was also generated after former President Donald Trump suggested Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense, claiming the country took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a significant rebound by new residential construction and building permits in the U.S. in June. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. increased more than expected last month.

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.