The Thai stock market on Monday ended the modest two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 7 points or 0.4 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,630-point plateau and it may open in the red again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower amid a sharp drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were mostly down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial and cement stocks, while the energy producers were mixed.
For the day, the index dropped 15.83 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 1,627.69 after trading between 1,623.42 and 1,640.74. Volume was 9.962 billion shares worth 36.583 billion baht. There were 869 decliners and 335 gainers, with 409 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.25 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 2.69 percent, Beauty Community plummeted 6.92 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.63 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.51 percent, Krung Thai Bank fell 0.57 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dipped 0.37 percent, PTT Global Chemical gained 0.33 percent, Siam Commercial Bank skidded 2.01 percent, Siam Concrete retreated 1.40 percent and PTT, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Banpu, Bangkok Bank and Bangkok Medical were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks were lackluster on Monday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.
The Dow rose 44.95 points or 0.18 percent to 25,064.36, while the NASDAQ dipped 20.26 points or 0.26 percent to 7,805.72 and the S&P 500 fell 2.88 points or 0.10 percent to 2,798.43.
Traders were reluctant to make big moves ahead of key quarterly results this week, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), American Express (AXP), IBM Corp. (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), and General Electric (GE).
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in June, as did business inventories in May. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said manufacturing activity continued to grow at a brisk pace in July, although slower than the previous month.
Many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable weakness was visible among energy stocks - which came amid a sharp drop in the price of crude oil as August delivery plunged $2.95 to $68.06 a barrel.
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