On Wednesday, the Thai stock market broke its two-day winning streak, where it gained more than a dozen points or 1 percent. Currently, the Stock Exchange of Thailand is just below the 1,375-point plateau with expectations to drop further on Thursday.
The uncertain outlook for interest rates has led to an uninspiring global forecast for Asian markets. While European stations witnessed a slight boost, the U.S. sectors displayed mixed and flat results, which are expected to be mirrored by Asian markets.
On Wednesday, slight losses were experienced by the service, resources, and property sectors, despite some support from the industrial stocks in the SET. The index fell by 3.04 points or 0.22 percent, closing at 1,373.33 after active trading. The volume reached 42.288 billion baht worth 12.883 billion baht where 238 declined, 226 gained, and 190 stocks remained unchanged.
Among the active stocks, companies like Advanced Info was down 1.44 percent, Thailand Airport 0.76 percent, and Asset World 0.92 percent. In contrast, companies Bangkok Bank increased 0.36 percent, and Gulf advanced by 0.60 percent.
Wall Street presented a mixed scene, with the major averages opening lower but ultimately displaying trivial changes. With the falling and rising of specific stocks, the Dow added 172.13 points or 0.44 percent while NASDAQ fell by 29.80 points or 0.18 percent.
These fluctuations seem to reflect investors' uncertainty about the interest rates outlook, particularly after Tuesday's remarks by Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari. Kashkari hinted that current interest rates might persist for an extended period, and he didn't rule out another rate hike.
However, the Federal Reserve is still seemingly planning to lower rates during the third quarter, with the FedWatch Tool by CME Group predicting an 83.5 percent chance of reduced rates by September.
Finally, Wednesday saw an increase in oil futures after the Energy Information Administration showed a rise in crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June rose by $0.61 or 0.78 percent, closing at $78.99 per barrel.
