Thai share prices weaken

Thai share prices closed 0.17 percent lower on Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid a growing political crisis over the leadership of embattled Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, dealers said.
They said buying sentiment was sluggish as foreign investors held off on concerns the current political turmoil could undercut the economy.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 1.25 points to 739.96 and the blue chip SET 50 index lost 1.06 points to 519.44.
Losers outnumbered gainers 179 to 155 with 102 stocks unchanged on turnover of 4.4 billion shares worth 15.3 billion baht (392 million dollars) traded.
The Thai baht closed at 39.08-11 to the dollar Thursday, little moved from Wednesday's 39.13-15. Against the euro, the Thai unit stood at 47.20-25, compared with 47.02-09.
"Investors were concerned over the ongoing crisis and they opted to stay on the sidelines," Rakpong Chaisuparakul, a security analyst at KGI Securities.
"Buying sentiment was also very weak as investors started questioning whether Thailand can achieve projected economic growth," Rakpong said.
Earlier this month, the government's think tank, the National Economic and Social Development Board, cut the country's 2006 growth forecast to 4.5-5.5 percent from an initial estimate of 4.7-5.7 percent due to the political crisis.
Thaksin has been at the center of a political storm since late January, when his family sold the telecoms conglomerate Shin Corp he founded to Singaporean investors in a tax-free 1.9 billion dollar deal.
Anger at the deal, mainly among a segment of Bangkok's middle class, erupted into street protests on February 4. Thaksin has faced weekly protests since then, and some 1,500 people have vowed to camp outside his office until he resigns.
Shares in Shin Corp rose 1.00 to 42.00 baht but its flagship mobile phone unit, Advanced Info Service (AIS), lost 1.00 to 98.00.
Thailand's top energy firm PTT was unchanged at 246.00 but its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production surged 8.00 to 540.00.
Thailand's top lender Bangkok Bank fell 1.00 to 112.00 and the third-largest lender Kasikorn Bank lost 1.00 to 64.50. Thai Airways International declined 1.00 to 46.75.