Thai share prices closed flat on Thursday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the Thanksgiving Day public holiday in the United States, dealers said. They said trading was also sluggish as the stock market in Japan, Asia's largest bourse, was closed for a public holiday and due to a lack of fresh domestic leads.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 0.51 points or 0.07 percent to 728.92, and the blue chip SET50 index dropped 0.65 points to 507.35. Losers outnumbered gainers 183 to 136, with 123 stocks unchanged on turnover of 3.4 billion shares worth 14.2 billion baht (389 million dollars).
The Thai baht firmed against the dollar, closing at 36.51-54 from Wednesday's 36.58-61, and finished at 47.34-40 to the euro from 47.00-15. "The stock market really doesn't have any new, strong positive factors," said Kanang Duangmanee, an economist at Kasikorn Research Center.
The lack of domestic leads and a closed market in Japan caused the Thai market to close nearly flat Thursday, dealers said, adding trading was also thin ahead of the US market close Thursday for the public holiday. Investors also sold shares to adjust their positions following recent gains, Kanang added. Thailand's largest energy firm PTT Plc gained 2.00 baht to 224.00, while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was flat at 105.00.
The kingdom's top lender Bangkok Bank was also flat at 119.00, while the third-largest lender Kasikorn Bank fell 0.50 to 68.00. Flag carrier Thai Airways International slipped 0.50 to 48.00, although the company announced its net profit jumped 32.7 percent year-on-year to 8.99 billion baht (246 million dollars) on strong demand from foreign tourists. Thailand's biggest mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service, lost 1.50 to 85.00.