Lower Open Called For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,600-point plateau and it may open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns over the conflict in the Middle East and the corresponding jump in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the consumer, finance, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index added 6.94 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1,595.16 after trading between 1,582.12 and 1,595.66. Volume was 10.274 billion shares worth 75.814 billion baht. There were 260 decliners and 186 gainers, with 201 stocks finishing unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened firmly lower on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow dropped 374.09 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 53,185.90, while the NASDAQ sank 31.54 points or 0.12 percent to close at 26,370.89 and the S&P 500 lost 25.62 points or 0.33 percent to end at 7,686.14.

The weakness on Wall Street came on concerns about a re-escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East following a period of relative calm, contributing to a jump in crude oil prices.

Crude oil prices jumped on Monday as the U.S. recommenced attacks on Iran, stoking concerns of a broader re-escalation in the gulf. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $2.24 or 2.69 percent at $85.64 per barrel.

The sharp increase in crude oil prices contributed to renewed worries about the outlook for inflation ahead of this month's Federal Reserve meeting. Treasury yields then moved higher on the day, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest levels in over a year.