On Thursday, the Thai stock market halted its three-day decline, during which it had lost over 0.8 percent, amounting to more than a dozen points. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is now positioned just under the 1,325-point mark, and further consolidation is anticipated on Friday.
The outlook for Asian markets is generally negative, with sustained selling pressure expected particularly in technology and semiconductor stocks. This mirrors the mostly downward trends observed in European and U.S. markets.
On Thursday, the SET experienced moderate gains, buoyed by the food, finance, industrial, property, resource, and service sectors, although consumer and technology companies showed weaker performance. The SET index increased by 4.97 points or 0.38 percent to close at 1,324.76, trading within a range of 1,317.89 to 1,327.02. The trading volume reached 10.3 billion shares with a value of 44.708 billion baht. The market saw 269 decliners and 223 gainers, while 165 stocks remained unchanged.
Notable movements included Advanced Info gaining 1.79 percent, Thailand Airport rising 1.74 percent, Asset World climbing 1.03 percent, and Banpu increasing by 0.97 percent. Bangkok Bank jumped 1.85 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical surged by 1.90 percent, and Bangkok Expressway rose by 1.29 percent. Conversely, B. Grimm lost 0.45 percent, while Energy Absolute plummeted 17.19 percent, and Gulf slid 0.56 percent. Other significant performances included Krung Thai Card rallying by 1.27 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gaining 1.37 percent, and Thai Oil soaring 2.90 percent. Some stocks, such as TTB Bank, SCG Packaging, and PTT, remained unchanged.
Wall Street provided a weak lead, with major indices opening slightly higher on Thursday but quickly trending downward and staying in the red for the remainder of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 533.06 points or 1.29 percent to close at 40,665.02. The NASDAQ dropped 125.70 points or 0.70 percent to end at 17,871.22, and the S&P 500 declined by 43.68 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 5,544.59.
The downturn on Wall Street partially stemmed from concerns about the market's near-term outlook following Wednesday's tech sell-off. This was triggered by reports that the Biden administration is contemplating stricter trade rules in its crackdown on Chinese companies involved in the chip sector.
In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported an unexpected rise in first-time unemployment claims last week. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia noted that regional manufacturing growth was more widespread in July. The Conference Board also reported a slight decline in its Leading Economic Index for June.
Oil futures experienced a slight decline on Thursday due to concerns over oil demand from China and the dollar's recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled down by $0.03, closing at $82.82 per barrel.
