March 7, 2008
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai share prices closed 0.74 percent lower on Friday, joining a wave of selling across Asia amid fears that the US economy was nearing a recession, dealers said.
They said the Thai market moved in line with other Asian markets including Japan and Hong Kong, with investors unnerved by a tumble on Wall Street.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 6.14 points to 821.57 and the blue-chip SET-50 lost 4.55 points to 592.18.
Losers far outnumbered gainers 264 to 82, with 103 stocks unchanged on turnover of 3.11 billion shares worth 14.52 billion baht (460.39 million dollars).
The Thai baht closed at 31.52-54 against the dollar, little changed from Thursday's 31.56-57. Against the euro, the Thai unit was quoted at 48.50-55 from 48.36-42.
"The market today fell, like other markets in the region, because investors feared a recession in the US economy that seems to be approaching," said Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice president at Thanachart Securities.
Pichai said that compared to other regional markets, the Thai bourse's falls have been limited because the local exchange has already been battered by negative sentiment for the past two years.
Thai shares dropped across the board while investors chased gains.
Thailand's biggest energy firm PTT remained unchanged at 324.00 while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production rose 1.00 baht to 152.00.
Thailand's largest lender Bangkok Bank slipped 1.00 to 128.00, while the kingdom's biggest mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service, fell 1.50 to 99.50.
Shares in Thai Airways International fell 1.25 to 28.50.
