'Thailand market likely to rebound'

The Thai stock market will likely rise slightly mainly due to a short-term technical rebound after the market fell heavily over the past month, an analyst said. The bourse has been on the decline mainly because of political instability over the past month, with thousands of anti-government demonstrators taking to the streets to demand Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's resignation.
The market has lost 10.8 percent since the beginning of June. The protesters later moved their rally to the gates of Government House but the crowds have since dwindled. "If Thailand's political situation remains static like this week, we can expect the market to rise," said Mayuree Chowvikran, senior vice president at Kim Eng Securities.
But she added that growing concern over high inflation and volatile oil prices would continue to dampen sentiment. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 32.70 points or 4.12 percent over the past week to close Friday at 743.03. Mayuree said the market was likely to pick up to the 755-point level next week.