Thai share prices closed 0.50 percent lower on Thursday as investors shrugged off a US interest rate cut and took profits in the banking and energy sectors, dealers said. They said sentiment was downbeat as investors remained cautious about the outlook for the US economy despite the latest interest rate cut, which was widely expected in the market.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 4.55 points to 902.73 and the blue chip SET 50 index lost 3.59 points to 669.20. Losers outnumbered gainers 218 to 118, with 119 stocks unchanged on turnover of 2.3 billion shares worth 25.7 billion baht (757 million dollars).
The Thai baht closed at 33.93-95 to the dollar, little changed from Wednesday's finish. Against the euro, the Thai currency was quoted at 48.90-96 from 49.05-08. "As the US rate cut was widely expected, investors were not surprised by the move and locked in profits instead," Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice president at Thanachart Securities.
The US central bank slashed its key interest rate on Wednesday by a quarter percentage point to 4.50 percent in a bid to try to bolster the world's biggest economy in the face of a housing slump.
Thailand's top energy firm was unchanged at 416.00, while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production fell 1.00 baht to 161.00. Thai Oil slipped 0.50 to 95.50. The kingdom's top lender Bangkok lost 2.00 to 123.00. Thai Airways International edged down 0.25 to 39.250, and Thailand's biggest mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service, fell 1.00 to 88.00.