(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slipping almost 20 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,300-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with oil and technology stocks likely to drag the bourses lower. The European and U.S. markets finished with mild losses and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the food, consumption, financial, resource, services and technology sectors.
For the day, the index shed 8.50 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 1,300.96 after trading between 1,296.67 and 1,311.73. Volume was 13.226 billion shares worth 54.556 billion baht. There were 362 decliners and 143 gainers, with 159 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.95 percent, while Thailand Airport weakened 0.86 percent, Asset World shed 0.57 percent, Banpu advanced 0.82 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical slumped 0.93 percent, B. Grimm declined 1.37 percent, BTS Group plunged 2.61 percent, CP All Public stumbled 1.35 percent, Energy Absolute plummeted 25.33 percent, Gulf lost 0.61 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.40 percent, Krung Thai Bank climbed 1.18 percent, Krung Thai Card tumbled 1.81 percent, PTT Exploration and Production skidded 0.98 percent, SCG Packaging improved 0.75 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dropped 0.96 percent, Siam Concrete added 0.45 percent, True Corporation retreated 1.69 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Bangkok Bank, PTT Global Chemical, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Thai Oil and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but faded throughout the day and ended mildly under water.
The Dow shed 45.24 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 39,118.86, while the NASDAQ slumped 126.10 points or 0.71 percent to close at 17,732.60 and the S&P 500 sank 22.39 points or 0.41 percent to end at 5,460.48.
For the week, the NASDAQ rose 0.2 percent but the Dow and the S&P 500 both eased 0.1 percent. However, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 posted substantial gains for the first half of 2024.
The early strength on Wall Street followed a Commerce Department report showing inflation in May matched estimates, generating renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
The subsequent pullback by the markets may have reflected a negative reaction to a turnaround by treasury yields, which initially moved lower following the release of the data but subsequently rebounded firmly into positive territory.
Oil prices showed a modest move to the downside on Friday, coming down from a two-month high on profit taking. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dipped $0.20 or 0.2 percent to $81.54 a barrel.
