Thai share prices closed 0.75 percent lower on Thursday amid a regional sell-off after an overnight slump on Wall Street rattled investors, dealers said. They said investors sold shares across the board, while record high oil prices also stoked concerns about a global economic slowdown.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 6.63 points to 873.64 and the blue chip SET 50 index fell 5.20 points to 644.73. Losers overwhelmed gainers 249 to 75, with 121 stocks unchanged on turnover of 1.4 billion shares worth 16.7 billion baht (493 million dollars).
The Thai baht was almost unchanged against the dollar, closing at 33.94-98 to the greenback. Against the euro, the Thai currency was quoted at 49.70-90 from Wednesday's 48.87-90. "The market was largely influenced by foreign bourses, which were triggered by a plunge on Wall Street caused by worries over the US subprime fallout," said Chai Chiraseveenupraphan, market strategist at Capital Nomura Securities.
"As well, the sharp rise of oil prices to nearly 100 dollars per barrel has led to concerns over inflation and the impact on the overall economy," he added. World crude oil briefly hit record highs of above 98 dollars a barrel on Wednesday night.