(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 50 points or 3.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,590-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on concerns over the outlook for interest rates due to rising inflation. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.
The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, resource, service and technology sectors.
For the day, the index fell 3.01 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 1,588.23 after trading between 1,587.88 and 1,600.98. Volume was 9.071 billion shares worth 64.073 billion baht. There were 214 gainers and 207 decliners, with 239 stocks finishing unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major U.S. averages were higher for much of Wednesday's trade but a late slump saw them finish under water.
The Dow dipped 13.96 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 52,305.24, coming off a record closing high. The NASDAQ sank 173.69 points or 0.66 percent to close at 26.040.03 and the S&) 500 fell 16.13 points or 0.22 percent to end at 7,483.23.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street was the result of ongoing concerns that the AI companies and chipmakers may be overbought - which had the biggest effect on the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
Traders also kept an eye out for developments in the Middle East, with concrete details regarding the end of the war remaining elusive.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday showed a modest decrease by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of June.
Crude oil prices tumbled again on Wednesday amid gradual recovery in tanker traffic across the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $1.12 or 1.61 percent at $68.38 per barrel.
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