The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the four-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 20 points or 1.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,435-point plateau and its likely to open to the downside again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after the Federal Reserve announced its well-telegraphed rate cut. The European and U.S. markets saw mild losses and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SET finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, consumer and industrial sectors.
For the day, the index slipped 0.83 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 1,435.77 after trading between 1,432.91 and 1,446.52. Volume was 10.775 billion shares worth 56.598 billion baht. There were 253 decliners and 238 gainers, with 175 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.39 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 0.77 percent, Asset World skidded 1.05 percent, Banpu strengthened 1.54 percent, Bangkok Bank tanked 2.21 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway rallied 0.62 percent, B. Grimm was down 0.43 percent, BTS Group plummeted 2.49 percent, CP All Public plunged 2.30 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.41 percent, Energy Absolute jumped 1.61 percent, Gulf declined 0.89 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.63 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.49 percent, Krung Thai Card gained 0.54 percent, PTT Oil & Retail improved 0.60 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 0.74 percent, SCG Packaging dropped 0.92 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.45 percent, Siam Concrete sank 0.83 percent, Thai Oil slumped 0.98 percent, TTB Bank slid 0.52 percent and PTT Global Chemical, True Corporation and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages hugged the line until the Feds monetary policy announcement; after an initial spike, they turned lower and ended in the red.
The Dow sank 103.08 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 41,503.10, while the NASDAQ shed 54.76 points or 0.31 percent to close at 17,573.30 and the S&P 500 fell 16.32 points or 0.29 percent to end at 5,618.26.
The late-day volatility on Wall Street came after the Fed decided to lower interest rates for the first time in over four years, aggressively slashing rates by half a percentage point.
The economic projections provided by Fed officials at the meeting suggested the central bank will cut rates by another 50 basis points by the end of the year.
Fed officials also expect to continue lowering rates next year, with the projections indicating rates will be lower by another full percentage point by the end of 2025.
Thanks to profit taking, crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, despite a drop in U.S. crude inventories and the rate cut. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for October ended down $0.28 or 0.39 percent at $70.91 a barrel.