Thai share prices closed 0.08 percent lower on Wednesday, following the regional trend on a day of light trading, dealers said. They said sentiment was also dampened by the Thai central bank's decision to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index slid 0.66 points to close at 826.19 points, and the blue chip SET 50 index shed 0.47 points to 593.63. Losers outnumbered gainers 192 to 151 while 118 stocks were unchanged with 5.9 billion shares traded worth 17.4 billion baht (548.9 million dollars).
The Thai baht weakened against the US dollar Wednesday, closing at 31.75-77 baht to one dollar compared to the previous day's close of 31.70-72. The Thai unit also weakened against the euro to 49.94-98, from 49.91-97 on Tuesday. "Today's trading pattern similar to the previous day, as the index weakened in line with regional markets," Kosin Sripaiboon at UOB Kay Hian Securities said.
"Local investors speculated in small agri-stocks in response to higher prices of grains and demand for biofuels," he said. Kosin said sentiment was also dampened by the Bank of Thailand's decision to hold interest rates steady at 3.25, even though the decision had been widely expected.
Among blue chips, Bangkok Bank was unchanged at 141 baht, Siam Commercial Bank lost 1.50 to 89 baht and PTT Plc dropped 2.00 to 318 baht. PTT Exploration and Production gained 2.00 baht to 156 baht while Siam Cement rose 2.00 to 208.00 and Thai Airways stayed put at 28.75.
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