The Thai stock market has witnessed a downward trend for the past six days, with an aggregate loss of over 40 points or 2.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is now just over the 1,360-point level, and it's projected to decline further on Tuesday.
Worldwide market predictions for Asia anticipate slight consolidation ahead of crucial data that could influence interest rate projections. European markets saw mixed results, while the U.S. markets fell slightly, expectations for Asian markets are varied.
On Monday, the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) saw minor declines following losses in the food, industrial, property, services, and technology sectors. The index fell by 4.83 points or 0.35 percent to 1,362.59 after fluctuating between 1,362.05 and 1,372.01. Stocks worth 40.411 billion baht in 18.987 billion shares were traded with decliners outnumbering gainers, 301 to 201 with 156 stocks remaining unchanged.
Stocks that were in the limelight include Advanced Info rising 0.97 percent, Thailand Airport dipping 1.15 percent, Bangkok Bank rising 1.06 percent, and B. Grimm dropping 1.87 percent. Meanwhile, the energy sector saw fluctuations with PTT rising 0.74 percent while Energy Absolute dropped 1.44 percent. Notably, PTT Global Chemical, Banpu, BTS Group stayed static.
From Wall Street, the major averages had a negative start on Monday, saw a boost in the afternoon but retracted by close. The Dow fell 97.55 points or 0.25 percent to end at 38,989.83. The NASDAQ declined 67.43 points or 0.41 percent to close at 16,207.51, and the S&P 500 went down 6.13 points or 0.12 percent to hit 5,130.95.
Investors exhibited caution due to upcoming substantial data releases. The testimony of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday is eagerly anticipated. These testimonies might hint at the future direction of interest rates. This comes ahead of the Labor Department's monthly employment report due on Friday, which may also impact interest rate projections.
In terms of commodities, oil futures fell on Monday due to concerns over energy demand outlook following OPEC's decision to extend output cuts to the end of Q2. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell by $1.23 or 1.5 percent to $78.74 a barrel.
From a domestic perspective, Thailand is set to release its February consumer price index data later today. It is anticipated that overall inflation will decline by 0.8 percent year-on-year following a drop of 1.11 percent in January, while the core CPI is expected to rise by 0.47 percent.
