Thai share prices jump

Thai share prices closed up 0.43 percent but off their highs on Wednesday as early gains faded after the Bank of Thailand hiked interest rates by a larger-than-expected half a point to head off rising inflation, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite rose 3.04 points to 708.50, off a high of 713.38, and the blue chip SET 50 index was up 1.91 points to 502.69.
Gainers led losers 192 to 103 with 117 stocks unchanged. Turnover was 3.1 billion shares worth 19.7 billion baht (480.8 million dollars).
The baht was a little stronger at 40.95-98 to the dollar compared to 41.09-12 on Tuesday while it also firmed against the euro to 51.08-14 against Tuesday's close of 51.15-32.
Ekpittaya Aimkongeak from BFIT Securities said investors bought big-cap shares in morning trade before taking profit in the afternoon after the Bank of Thailand's decision to raise its benchmark rate to 3.25 percent.
"The decision to raise rates by a half point surprised all the analysts who had expected only a quarter-point hike," he said.
The move, aimed at stemming inflation, will affect markets, he said.
"The baht will strengthen and it will cause foreign investors to delay investment," Ekpittaya said, adding the decision will slow inflation and could also affect economic growth.
The Bank of Thailand cited fears of rising prices, fed by the nation's soaring fuel bill, as inflation jumped to a seven-year high of 5.6 percent in August compared with a year earlier.
Major indices closed mixed. Finance and securities rose 2.09 percent, banking added 1.72 percent, communications gained 0.20 percent but energy fell 0.25 percent.
Bangkok Bank and Kasikornbank closed 1.00 baht higher to 106.00 and 64.00 respectively.
PTT lost 2.00 baht on 242.00 while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 460.00.
Siam Cement dropped 2.00 to 228.00 baht while Siam City Cement closed unchanged to 286.00.
Advanced Info Service and United Communication both closed unchanged on 103.00 and 50.00 baht respectively while Thai Airways International added 0.50 to 39.00.