BANGKOK: The Thai stock market has moved to the downside in three straight trading days, slipping almost 15 points or 1 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,560-point plateau and the market may find traction on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic thanks to mixed economic data and stagnant crude oil prices. The European markets were flat but little changed and the U.S. markets were slightly higher – and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers. Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.88 percent, while Banpu added 0.51 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.28 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.70 percent, Kasikornbank dropped 1.06 percent, Krung Thai Bank skidded 2.02 percent, PTT added 0.25 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.65 percent and Airport of Thailand and PTT Exploration and Production were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks ticked slightly higher on Monday as the Dow and the S&P 500 again hit fresh record closing highs. The Dow crept up 15.68 points or 0.1 percent to 20,837.44, while the NASDAQ rose 16.59 points or 0.3 percent to 5,861.90 and the S&P added 2.39 points or 0.1 percent to 2,369.73.
Profit taking contributed to early weakness on Wall Street following recent strength, but selling pressure remained relatively subdued. In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a rebound in durable goods orders in January. But the National Association of Realtors noted a steep drop in pending home sales in January. Crude oil futures were slightly higher Monday, holding near yearly highs amid a tug of war on oil supplies between OPEC and the U.S. WTI light sweet crude oil was up $0.06 at $54.05/barrel. Closer to home, Thailand will release January numbers for imports, exports and trade balance, plus Q4 data on current account. In December, imports were worth $16.02 billion and exports were at $18.07 billion for a trade surplus of $2.05 billion. The current account surplus in Q3 was 10.29 billion.
