Thai stocks on Friday finished their second-worst week of the year, sinking another 0.8% as world oil prices continued to fall and concerns about economic growth mounted.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index declined 11.86 points from Thursday to close at 1,514.95, a loss of 5.2% from the previous week's close of 1,597.76. Turnover was 51.02 billion baht, with 16 billion shares traded.
The worst weekly loss on the SET this year occurred in the first week of January, when the index fell 5.7% from a week earlier.
Energy shares including PTT, the country's largest company, account for about 20% of the SET's capitalisation.
The five most heavily traded shares by value on Friday were PTT, down 3 baht to 330 baht; TRUE, down 50 satang to 11.80 baht; KTB, down 80 satang to 22 baht; PTTEP, down 2.50 baht to 112.50; and SAWAD, up 1.50 baht to 26.50.
Foreign investors were net sellers on Friday of 2.92 billion baht worth of Thai shares, bringing their net sales for the month to 7.42 billion. For the year to date they are net sellers of 16.26 billion baht.
Local institutions were net sellers of 94.88 million baht and brokers sold 1.29 billion. Individual investors were net buyers of 4.3 billion baht.
Renewed signs of weakness in China's economy and the slide in oil prices sent world stock markets lower on Friday despite robust US retail sales.
In early trade in Europe, the FTSE 100 in London sank 1.4%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both declined 1.6%. Wall Street also appeared headed for a sell-off, with S&P 500 and Dow futures both down 0.7%.
China reported that factory output growth declined to 7.2% in November from 7.7% in October and 8% in September. Growth in the world's second-largest economy might fall to 7.1% in the current quarter and below 7% early next year, some economists believe.
Leaders in Beijing are calling this the "new normal" as they pursue more sustainable growth, but the investment community has yet to embrace the concept.
Gains in some Asian markets narrowed in the afternoon. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed up 0.7% to 17,371.58 and South Korea's Kospi added 0.3% to 1,921.71. The Shanghai Composite climbed 0.4% to 2,938.17. Most markets in Southeast Asia rose but Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% to 5,219.60. Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased earlier gains, closing down 0.3% at 23,249.20.
In Bangkok, the SET50 index of blue chips ended at 1,007.42 points, down 10.96, on turnover of 226.39 billion baht, and the SET100 lost 23.13 points to 2,230.89 in trade worth 35.66 billion. The SETHD index of high-dividend shares shed 10.48 points to 1,162.99, with turnover of 15.53 billion baht. The Market for Alternative Investment gained 4.31 points to 720.19, with transaction value of 4.49 billion baht.
In the currency markets, the baht climbed 0.7% for the week and was trading late Friday at 32.79 to the dollar, compared with 32.82/84 on Thursday and 32.93 a week earlier.
In the debt market, government bonds rose for a sixth week on speculation that the slowest inflation in five years will give the central bank room to cut interest rates and spur economic growth.
The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee will meet next week but few analysts expect a rate cut until policymakers see more data in the new year.
The yield on government notes due in June 2023 dropped six basis points to 2.7%, the lowest level in at least four years and taking the decline since Oct 31 to 40 basis points, Thai Bond Market Association data show.
A slump in crude oil prices may offer further relief on the inflation front in a country that is a net oil importer. Consumer prices rose just 1.26% in November.
"Some investors are speculating on an interest-rate cut with the economy remaining sluggish and inflation slowing," said Kozo Hasegawa, a foreign-exchange trader at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in Bangkok. "That will continue to put downward pressure on bond yields."