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Baht/$ 33.47/52
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GOLD |
15,200
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STOCKS
NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE & DARANA CHUDASRI
Thai stocks dropped 0.81% yesterday in a see-saw session led by a sell-off in energy stocks due to declining oil and coal prices.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index closed at 664.52, down 5.45, in trade worth 17.69 billion baht. The index rose to as high as 681.24 points in early trade before dropping sharply to the day's low of 660.16 before the close of the morning session.
Energy stocks lost 3.74% on the day amid reports of declining global demand for oil and coal. Bank stocks, however, rose 2.8% yesterday on expectations of better-than-expected second quarter results, while property rose 0.12%.
PTT Plc, the largest company on the SET by market capitalisation, led trade yesterday, dropping 12 baht to 238. PTT Exploration and Production fell seven baht to 143, and coal producer Banpu slid 56 baht to 396, a low in 19 months.
Foreign investors were net sellers of 2.74 billion baht, while retail investors and local institutions were net buyers of 1.08 and 1.65 billion respectively.
Charoen Iampatanatham, a deputy managing director at KTB Securities, said the market was led by large-cap selling by foreign investors.
"Oil and coal prices have both fallen, and the Thai market reacted similarly to others in the region," he said.
Oil prices rebounded $2 to over $131 per barrel in London yesterday following a 10% decline over the past three sessions. Coal delivered to Amsterdam with settlement next year fell to $194.49 a metric ton, the lowest since June 25, according to Bloomberg.
Mr Charoen said the index next week was expected to remain bearish, with investors taking cues from Wall Street and the state of the US economy.
The baht traded in a narrow range of 33.30/33 to the dollar yesterday in line with other regional currencies.
Songpol Cheevapanyaroj, a first senior vice-president at Kasikornbank, said capital outflows were unlikely even with the sharp falls in the stock market.
He said the baht next week was expected to remain rangebound between 33.4 and 33.6 to the dollar.
"The market is closely watching results of US financial institutions and if additional fallout from the sub-prime crisis will occur," Mr Songpol said.
"But one positive factor is that oil prices are showing signs of falling."
Ariya Tiranaprakit, a senior vice-president of the Thai Bond Market Association, said the bond market was quiet yesterday, with short-term yields up slightly in line with the 0.25% rate hike by the central bank on Wednesday.
Long-term yields fell with US treasuries. US treasury yields have fallen sharply as investors have fled the equities market in favour of bonds in a "flight to quality" over concerns about the US financial system, she said.
Ten-year bonds yesterday ended at 5.50227%, down 16 basis points from Wednesday, while five-year yields dropped 15 points to 5.14595%.
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