Losses May Accelerate For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Friday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,580-point plateau and it's expected to take further damage on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative with heavy pressure likely among technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the consumer, finance, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index sank 12.19 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 1,582.60 after trading between 1,580.36 and 1,598.53. Volume was 12.223 billion shares worth 67.946 billion baht. There were 243 decliners and 220 gainers.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.28 percent, while Thailand Airport slumped 0.85 percent, Asset World skyrocketed 6.14 percent, Banpu tumbled 1.75 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical climbed 1.10 percent, B. Grimm surged 6.38 percent, BTS Group declined 0.96 percent, CP All Public and Thai Oil both lost 0.54 percent, Energy Absolute tanked 2.31 percent, Gulf fell 0.37 percent, Kasikornbank dropped 0.99 percent, Krung Thai Bank sank 0.70 percent, Krung Thai Card jumped 1.67 percent, PTT Oil & Retail improved 0.81 percent, PTT Exploration and Production added 0.35 percent, PTT Global Chemical retreated 1.44 percent, SCG Packaging rallied 2.97 percent, Siam Concrete soared 3.54 percent, True Corporation shed 0.72 percent, TTB Bank climbed 1.75 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, PTT and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is brutal as the major averages opened lower on Friday and accelerated deeper into the red throughout the day, ending at session lows.

The Dow plunged 695.15 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 50,866.78, while the NASDAQ cratered 1,121.53 points or 4.18 percent to close at 25,709.43 and the S&P 500 tumbled 200.57 points or 2.64 percent to end at 7,383.74.

For the week, the NASDAQ plummeted 4.7 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.9 percent and the Dow dipped 0.3 percent.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as technology stocks remained under pressure amid concerns about valuations.

Profit taking also contributed to the substantial weakness following recent strength in the markets, which lifted them to record closing highs.

A sharp increase by treasury yields also weighed on Wall Street, with yields surging following the release of stronger than expected U.S. jobs data.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday on optimism that the Strait of Hormuz may re-open in the coming days. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.97 or 2.97 percent at $90.07 per barrel.