Thai stocks are expected to be rangebound this week due to a lack of positive leads with buying sentiment still weak after the suspension of power giant EGAT's public listing, analysts said.
The Thai market was under heavy selling pressure during the week as foreign investors were disappointed by the suspension of the partial privatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) earlier this week. If listed, EGAT would become the country's biggest stock listing.
But the Supreme Administrative Court said Tuesday the suspension would continue until it had a chance to rule on two privatisation decrees approved earlier by the government in a bid to open the way for an initial public offer.
For the week ending November 18, the Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index dropped 14.04 points or 2.03 percent to close Friday at 676.41.
"Investors are looking for new leads in the market but there are hardly any. We just finished the third-quarter earnings season and EGAT's listing was supposed to be a big boost for the market," said Kanang Duangmanee, a researcher at Kasikorn Research Center.
"But EGAT's suspension affected confidence among foreign investors. It is likely that foreign investors will trade reluctantly this week," Kanang said.