(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sliding more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,520-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on disappointing earnings news and ongoing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asia bourses figure to follow suit.
The SET finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index sank 16.85 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 1,519.13 after trading between 1,513.48 and 1,544.11. Volume was 29.709 billion shares worth 101.413 billion baht. There were 1,070 decliners and 436 gainers, with 369 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info fell 0.28 percent, while Thailand Airport sank 0.82 percent, Asset World skidded 1.23 percent, Bangkok Asset Management dropped 0.93 percent, Bangkok Bank retreated 0.80 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.61 percent, BTS Group declined 1.03 percent, Gulf tumbled 1.40 percent, Kasikornbank surrendered 1.26 percent, Krung Thai Bank tanked 1.59 percent, PTT plunged 1.70 percent, PTT Exploration and Production plummeted 1.77 percent, PTT Global Chemical lost 1.19 percent, Siam Commercial Bank slid 0.54 percent and Siam Concrete, TMB Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened sharply lower on Friday; the major averages recouped some of the losses but still finished firmly in the red.
The Dow shed 177.26 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 30,814.26, while the NASDAQ sank 114.14 points or 0.87 percent to end at 12,998.50 and the S&P 500 fell 27.29 points or 0.72 percent to close at 3,768.25. For the week, the Dow lost 0.9 percent and the NASDAQ and S&P both fell 1.5 percent.
The early sell-off on Wall Street reflected a negative reaction to disappointing earnings news from financial giants Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
Negative sentiment was also generated by a report from the Commerce Department showing a continued decline in U.S. retail sales in December. But the Federal Reserve released a separate report showing U.S. industrial production jumped much more than expected last month.
Crude oil futures settled sharply lower on Friday as worries about energy demand resurfaced amid rising coronavirus cases and tighter restrictions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $1.21 or 2.3 percent at $52.36 a barrel.
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