Thai stocks closed 1.30 percent lower on Wednesday, in line with regional markets and following a slump in oil prices, an analyst said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 7.61 points to close at 575.87 while the blue chip SET-50 index fell 6.55 points to 411.97.
Decliners overwhelmed gainers 216 to 81 and 104 stocks were unchanged on turnover of 1.6 billion shares worth 12.4 billion baht (365.9 million dollars) The baht was hardly changed against the dollar to close at 34.06-08 compared with Friday's close of 34.08-10 after a four-day banking holiday.
The unit also gained against the euro to close at 47.41-45 compared with last week's close of 47.71-75. Pongrat Ratanavanananda, an analyst at Bua Luang Securities, said the market fell after the long weekend break in line with regional markets.
Among major stocks, coal miner Banpu lost 7.00 baht to close at 317.00 baht, while PTT Plc dropped 5.00 baht to 222.00 and its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production shed 2.50 baht to 124.50 baht. Bangkok Bank closed 3.50 baht lower to 102.50 baht, Kasikornbank was down 1.50 to 63.50 baht, while Siam Commercial Bank edged down 2.25 baht to 68.25 baht.