Thai share prices are likely to be range-bound as investors wait to see whether the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, dealers said on Friday.
The Fed will meet on Tuesday, a meeting the region will be watching carefully amid fears over a slowing US economy in the wake of the subprime mortgage troubles.
"If the cut is 0.25 basis points it will not help much, but with 0.50 points it will boost global markets, as well as in this region," said Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice president at National Securities. "A US interest cut will also provide room for the Thai central bank to further cut its own interest rate," he added.
Pichai predicted the Thai bourse would not exceed 820 points or drop below 800. Sasikorn Charoensuwan, chief analyst at Phillip Securities, said that the expected announcement of Thailand's new army chief next week would have little impact on the market.
The energy sector would likely lead the Thai bourse next week because of high oil prices, she added. For the week to September 14, the Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index rose 1.31 percent or 10.49 points to close Friday at 811.95.