Soft Start Predicted For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has moved lower in back-to-back trading days, sliding almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand remains just beneath the 1,750-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with little movement expected ahead of the FOMC interest rate decision later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower – and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index dipped 1.43 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,747.99 after trading between 1,745.73 and 1,756.85. Volume was 12.141 billion shares worth 42.321 billion baht. There were 906 decliners and 441 gainers, with 531 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.25 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.76 percent, Beauty Community lost 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.71 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.50 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.65 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.57 percent, Siam Commercial Bank picked up 0.34 percent, Siam Concrete advanced 0.44 percent and PTT, Kasikornbank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Banpu, Bangkok Bank and Bangkok Medical all were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday before fading in afternoon trade – although the tech-heavy NASDAQ remained in the green.

The Dow shed 69.84 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 26,492.21, while the NASDAQ added 14.22 points or 0.18 percent to 8,007.47 and the S&) fell 3.81 points or 0.13 percent to 2,915.56.

The uncertainty on Wall Street comes as traders look ahead to the Fed’s monetary policy announcement. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by a 25 basis points, although traders will pay attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s subsequent press conference is also likely to attract attention, with the central bank expected to raise rates by at least once more this year.

In economic news, the Conference Board noted an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence in September as its index hit an 18-year high.

Crude oil prices climbed on Tuesday after OPEC declined to increase production after upcoming U.S. sanctions against Iran take hold. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for November delivery gained $0.20 or 0.3 percent to $72.28.