BANGKOK, Sept 23 — Thai stocks dropped 2.4 per cent today as players locked in quick gains in large caps and banking stocks, while most others in Southeast Asia followed a broader fall in Asia amid renewed concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s policy.
Thai main SET index fell to near 1,450 mark at the midday trading break, with shares in Siam Commercial Bank Pcl and Krung Thai Bank Pcl sliding more than 4 per cent. The stocks were among the outperformers last week.
Some brokers cited technical-led selling as indicators showed Thai stocks were relatively overbought compared to regional peers.
The SET’s 14-day Relative Strength Index hovered near an overbought condition of 70 on the previous two sessions. The benchmark racked up 6.1 per cent gain last week, Southeast Asia’s best performer.
“Big caps are still the target of this risk-on and risk-off sentiment which will keep shares volatile. We have government spending story as a key boost domestically but there’s still an uncertainty,” said an analyst at Phillip Securities.
The government’s proposed 2 trillion baht (RM200 billion) infrastructure loan bill passed the third reading in the House on Friday and the bill is expected to be passed to the Senate for deliberation this week.
Among weak spot, Jakarta’s Composite Index was down 1 per cent after last week’s gain of almost 5 per cent. Singapore’s index fell 0.7 per cent in light volume that was around one-third of a full day average over the past 30 sessions.
Bucking the trend, the Philippine main index was up 0.6 per cent helped by selective buying in big caps including SM Investments Corp and Ayala Land Inc. — Reuters
