Thai shares drop

Thai share prices fell 0.09 percent Friday as investors waited on the sidelines, worried about an investigation by stock exchange officials into possible market manipulation, dealers said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index edged down 0.64 points to close at 686.52 points, and the blue chip SET 50 index was off 0.23 points at 479.18.
Losers outnumbered gainers 159 to 127 stocks and 111 stocks were unchanged in moderate trading of 2.3 billion shares worth 14.3 billion baht (347.67 million dollars).
The Thai unit remained under pressure by oil prices, at its lowest level in seven months and closed Friday at 41.11-13 baht to the dollar compared to the previous day's close of 40.90-41.00.
But she said slight gains in the communication sector of 1.76 percent and construction materials of 0.34 percent helped sustained the index to not fall further.