Friday May 9, 01:01 PM
Thai shares close lower in line with region on oil price concerns - UPDATE
BANGKOK (Thomson Financial) - Thai shares closed lower on Friday amid worries about the steep rise of global oil prices to above $124 a barrel.
The Thai bourse fell due mainly to profit taking, following a regional trend.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 3.46 points or 0.41 percent to close at 846.71, while the blue-chip SET 50 index fell 3.00 points to 612.50.
Losers far led gainers 218 to 123 while 118 stocks were unchanged with turnover of 2.85 billion shares worth 20.19 billion baht ($631.79 million).
The Thai baht slipped against the dollar, closing at 31.96-97 baht from Thursday's 31.91-94. The baht also depreciated against the euro, finishing at 49.46-51 from 48.96-49.00.
'The market closed down today due mainly to profit taking, and that happened to markets around the region,' said Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice president at Thanachart Securities.
'Investors are worried about the instability of oil prices that have been rising, especially during the past week.'
Crude oil traded near new all-time highs above $124 on Friday.
Thailand's largest lender Bangkok Bank lost 4.00 baht to 129.00, while another major lender Siam Commercial Bank slipped 0.50 to 89.00.
The country's top energy firm PTT was unchanged at 352.00 baht, and its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production also remained at 185.00.
Another major energy firm Banpu rose 8.00 to 460.00.
The country's biggest telephone operator Advance Info Service gained 0.50 to 94.00 while Thai Airways International edged up 0.50 to 27.50.
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