Winning Streak May End For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 30 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,320-point plateau although it's due for profit taking on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to fears of an economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The SET finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the industrial, resource and technology stocks were offset by weakness from the food, consumer and service sectors.

For the day, the index rose 1.89 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 1,322.75 after trading between 1,319.29 and 1,329.76. Volume was 8.637 billion shares worth 36.899 billion baht. There were 238 decliners and 233 gainers, with 175 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info and CP All Public both slid 0.43 percent, while Asset World tanked 2.20 percent, Banpu improved 0.81 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.36 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical slumped 0.95 percent, Bangkok Expressway was down 0.64 percent, B. Grimm surged 5.56 percent, BTS Group dropped 0.93 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods plunged 3.75 percent, Energy Absolute skyrocketed 6.11 percent, Kasikornbank collected 1.14 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 1.66 percent, PTT sank 0.78 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 2.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical advanced 0.92 percent, SCG Packaging soared 2.65 percent, Siam Commercial Bank shed 0.49 percent, Siam Concrete lost 0.45 percent, Thai Oil jumped 1.98 percent, True Corporation skidded 1.08 percent and TTB Bank, Krung Thai Card, Gulf, PTT Oil & Retail and Thailand Airport were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and finished deep under water.

The Dow plummeted 494.82 points or 1.21 percent to finish at 40,347.97, while the NASDAQ tumbled 405.26 points or 2.30 percent to close at 17,194.14 and the S&P 500 sank 75.62 points or 1.37 percent to end at 5,446.68.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as disappointing data led to concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy and offset optimism about a near-term interest rate cut by Federal Reserve.

The Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in July.

The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in almost a year last week.

Oil futures settled lower on Thursday on concerns about disappointing economic data and the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.60 or about 2.05 percent at $76.31 a barrel.