Thai stocks ended lower on Thursday with foreign investors taking profits and volatile world oil prices weighing on market sentiment, analysts said.
The benchmark Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 0.64 points, or 0.1 percent, at 623.72 points. However, the big-cap SET 50 index edged up 0.19 percent to 42.40 points.
Turnover dropped to 16.8 billion baht ($410.6 million) from 19.1 billion baht on Wednesday. Analysts said uncertainty over oil prices had increased after pipeline bombings in Iraq and al Qaeda-linked attacks in Saudi Arabia.
"Investors will remain wary of oil price movements tomorrow (on Friday), and they could weigh on the market," said Capital Nomura Securities strategist Skit Udomsirikul. US light crude had climbed one percent to $37.71 a barrel, but it was almost $5 off the 21-year peak of $42.45 on June 2, just before the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) announced it would pour more oil into the market to cool red-hot prices.
Skit expected resistance at 630 points and support at 617-618 points on Friday. "The market traded in a narrow band on Thursday and could not go far because foreign investors kept selling when the market moved higher," Skit said.