(RTTNews) - The Thai Stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, sinking more than 20 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it's expected to see a steady start on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ongoing pessimism over the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished barely lower on Monday as losses from the food, property and technology sectors were offset by gains from the consumer, finance and resource stocks.
For the day, the index eased 0.21 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 1,517.74 after trading between 1,510.42 and 1,523.19. Volume was 8.978 billion shares worth 56.223 billion baht. There were 279 decliners and 199 gainers, with 174 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Thailand Airport slumped 0.94 percent, while Asset World dropped 0.93 percent, Bangkok Bank vaulted 1.52 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.95 percent, B. Grimm tanked 2.27 percent, BTS Group stumbled 1.92 percent, CP All Public accelerated 3.24 percent, Energy Absolute surged 6.77 percent, Gulf rose 0.42 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.02 percent, Krung Thai Bank expanded 1.46 percent, Krung Thai Card tumbled 1.71 percent, PTT Oil & Retail shed 0.79 percent, PTT gained 0.69 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 2.67 percent, PTT Global Chemical strengthened 1.32 percent, SCG Packaging sank 0.84 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 1.50 percent, Siam Concrete added 0.44 percent, Thai Oil soared 3.80 percent, True Corporation retreated 1.36 percent, TTB Bank advanced 0.87 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Advanced Info, Banpu and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Monday but quickly turned tail, finally ending mixed.
The Dow gained 159.95 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 49,686.12, while the NASDAQ slumped 134.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 26,090.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.45 points or 0.07 percent to close at 7,403.05.
The U.S.-Iran war has effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, leading to a spike in crude oil prices and concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
Treasury yields soared last Friday amid speculation that the Federal Reserve's next interest rate move could be an increase rather than a cut.
The price of crude oil and treasury yields moved to the upside over the course of the day, adding to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. takes time to respond to Iran's new peace proposal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was last up $3.27 or 3.10 percent at $108.69 per barrel.
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