Thai share prices closed 1.30 percent lower on Tuesday on profit-taking in the banking and energy sectors after hitting a fresh one-year high, dealers said. They said sentiment was downbeat due to an uncertain political outlook following last week's court ruling disbanding deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra's party and banning top party leaders from politics.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index dropped 10.02 points to 760.59, while the blue chip SET 50 index fell 9.51 points to 539.85. Losers outnumbered gainers 213 to 137, with 111 stocks unchanged on turnover of 4.3 billion shares worth 30 billion baht (865 million dollars).
The Thai baht moved little from Monday, closing at a nine-year high of 34.46-49 to the dollar. Against the euro, the Thai currency finished at 46.55-60 from 46.32-59.
"The market was under pressure due to profit-taking. Investors locked in profits mainly in big-cap stocks such as banking and energy shares," said Kanang Duangmanee, an economist at Kasikorn Research Center. Market players also traded with caution due to political uncertainty following the landmark court verdict against Thaksin and his political party.
Thailand's military-installed government on Tuesday lifted a ban on political activities, paving the way for members of Thaksin's disbanded political party to regroup. But Kanang said the move hardly lifted buying sentiment among investors. Thailand's top energy firm PTT fell 4.00 baht to 266.00 and its unit PTT Exploration and Production also declined 4.00 to 105.00.
The kingdom's top lender Bangkok Bank lost 3.00 to 116.00 and the third largest lender Kasikorn Bank slipped 1.50 to 71.50. Thai Airways International edged down 0.25 to 45.00 and Thailand's largest mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service, fell 0.50 to 90.00.