Thai share prices closed 0.46 percent lower on Friday as investors locked in profits in the energy sector following five consecutive days of gains, dealers said. They said trading was sluggish as investors found few fresh leads, with sentiment downbeat due to a slump in a regional market and on Wall Street.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 3.43 points to 740.42, and the blue chip SET50 index lost 2.48 points to 518.84. Losers outnumbered gainers 221 to 140, with 97 stocks unchanged on turnover of 5.7 billion shares worth 21.4 billion baht (584 million dollars). The Thai baht firmed to a seven-year high of 36.61-63 to the dollar from Thursday's 36.69-70, and closed at 47.13-18 from 46.87-90.
"The market was down mainly due to profit-taking in the energy and construction sectors following recent gains," said Wiriya Lappromrattana, a senior market analyst at Kiatnakin Securities. Apart from profit-taking, investors stayed on the sidelines as they found few new leads in the market Friday, Wiriya said, adding a fall in the Asian and US stock markets also dampened sentiment.
Thailand's largest energy firm PTT Plc fell 2.00 to 226.00 baht and its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 108.00. The kingdom's top lender Bangkok Bank fell 1.00 to 123.00 but the third-largest lender Kasikorn Bank traded flat at 72.50. Flag carrier Thai Airways International edged up 0.50 to 49.00, but Thailand's top mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), fell 4.00 to 86.50.
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