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Monday 8 November 10:01 PM
Thai Shares End Dn On Regional Mkt, Unrest In South -2-BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thai shares ended slightly lower Monday in sluggish trade, led by losses in energy stocks like Thai Oil and PTT, as falls in most regional markets pressured market sentiment, analysts said. Investors adopted a cautious attitude, partly because of lingering concerns over a possible spread of violence in Muslim-dominated southern Thailand, they added. The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index closed down 5.89 points, or 0.9%, at 629.20 points. The blue chip SET 50 index was down 0.48 point, or 1.1%, at 43.88 points. However, the Market for Alternative Investment Index, the board for small capitalization stocks, closed up 0.95 point, or 0.5%, at 185.66 points. Decliners led advancers 201 to 70. Trading volume was 927.9 million shares worth THB9.80 billion, compared with 2.1 billion shares traded worth THB16.65 billion Friday. Two weeks ago, a clash between demonstrators and police in southern Thailand resulted in the deaths of more than 85 detainees while they were being transported to an interrogation camp. There have been outbreaks of violence since then, sparking fears that unrest in the region could spread. (MORE) Dow Jones Newswires November 08, 2004 05:04 ET (10:04 GMT) DJ Thai Shares End Dn On Regional Mkt, Unrest In South -2- "The index is expected to hover in a tight range in thin volume over the next couple of days due to an absence of fresh positive factors," said Viriya Labpromrat, head of research at Kiatnakin Securities. The market is also awaiting the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting Wednesday to see if the Fed will raise interest rates by another 25 basis points as anticipated, analysts said. Leading the index's decline were Thai Oil, the country's largest refiner, and oil and gas conglomerate PTT. Thai Oil dropped 2.3% to THB42 and its parent PTT shed 1.8% to THB166 amid softening global crude oil prices, which would cause their profit margins to narrow. The two stocks were the most active on the board with trading valued at THB1.33 billion and THB796.3 million, respectively. Bucking the trend, shipping firm Regional Container Lines ended up 8.3% at THB23.40. It reported a record-high net profit of THB1.28 billion for the third quarter, up sharply from THB276.6 million a year earlier, thanks to a higher freight rates. Internet service provider CS Loxinfo jumped 5.3% to THB6.95 after the company reported a near fourfold rise in third-quarter net profit to THB107.8 million. Analysts expect the index to be rangebound at 625 and 635 points Tuesday. -By Maytinee Wasumadee, Dow Jones Newswires; 662-266-0744; djnews.bangkok@dowjones.com -Edited by Sharon Vong and Sarah C. de Mesa
Dow Jones news delayed 20 minutes. Copyright 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2002 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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