Thai share prices closed 0.72 percent lower on Wednesday, bucking the regional trend after early gains, dealers said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 3.00 points to close at 414.41 while the blue chip SET-50 index shed 2.44 points to 287.21.
Losers outnumbered gainers 161 to 111, with 127 stocks unchanged on turnover of 1.81 billion shares worth 8.24 billion baht (228.61 million dollars). The baht was stable against the dollar, finishing at 36.02-04 from 36.03-05 on Tuesday. The unit gained slightly against the euro to close at 45.66-70 from 45.74-91 the previous day.
"Earlier in the day we expected the market to close up following regional trends that mirrored gains on Wall Street," said Sasikorn Charoenswan, a market analyst at Phillip Securities. "But the index fell later as the poor global economic outlook outweighed good news," she said.
Thailands top energy firm PTT Plc fell 2.00 baht to close at 144.00, while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 91.00. Coal miner Banpu lost 8.00 to 202.00 while Siam Cement was unchanged at 97.00. The countrys biggest lender Bangkok Bank slipped 1.00 to 72.00. Kasikorn Bank was unchanged at 41.25. Siam Commercial Bank shed 1.50 to 52.50.