Narrow Trading Range Tipped For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 55 points or 3.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand closed just above the 1,530-point plateau, and now the market may tick lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, thanks to conflicting data from the United States and slightly overbought markets that suggest profit taking. The European markets were higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the energy producers were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 5.66 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,531.17 after trading between 1,525.35 and 1,539.23. Volume was 11.039 billion shares worth 37.001 billion baht. There were 474 decliners and 355 gainers, with 198 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, coal miner Banpu shed 1.87 percent, while Bangkok Bank jumped 1.29 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.43 percent, energy giant PTT dropped 2.03 percent, PTT Exploration and Production tumbled 3.28 percent, PTT Global Chemical fell 2.70 percent, Siam Commercial Bank climbed 1.37 percent and Siam Concrete dipped 0.43 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Tuesday following the release of a mixed batch of U.S. economic data. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow closed above 18,000 for the first time and set a new record closing high along with the S&P 500.

The NASDAQ fell 16.00 points or 0.3 percent to 4,765.42, while the Dow climbed 64.73 points or 0.4 percent to 18,024.17 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.63 points or 0.2 percent to 2,082.17.

Early buying interest was generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing much stronger than previously estimated third quarter GDP growth. But the Commerce Department also reported an unexpected decrease in durable goods orders and new home sales.

Relatively light trading activity also contributed to the lackluster performance, as some traders got a head start on the holidays.