Thai Stock Market May Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, slumping more than 40 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,575-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to renewed hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, consumer, finance, industrial, property, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index tumbled 27.88 points or 1.74 percent to finish at 1,576.25 after trading between 1,574.13 and 1,608.18. Volume was 14.475 billion shares worth 97.962 billion baht. There were 406 decliners and 108 gainers, with 140 stocks finishing unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages spent most of the day in the red before finally ending the session mixed.

The Dow tumbled 576.76 points or 1.09 percent to finish at 52,348.39, while the NASDAQ rose 51.96 points or 0.20 percent to close at 25,870.65 and the S&P 500 slipped 21.14 points or 0.28 percent to end at 7,482.71.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire "over."

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Wednesday amid renewed Middle East tensions after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $3.16 or 4.49 percent at $73.60 per barrel.

However, stocks regained ground over the course of the session as crude oil prices pullback off their highs of the session.

Housing stocks moved sharply lower on concerns about the outlook for interest rates, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.8 percent. Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which tumbled along with the price of the precious metal.