Thai shares under political pressure
Thai shares on Monday are under political pressure, going against the trend when Asian stock markets rose on Wall Street's seventh straight week of gains and a nuclear deal between world powers and Iran.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index opened 11.75 points or 0.86 per cent lower. The index was at 1,357.17 points at noon, on thin turnover of Bt14 billion.
In November, the Thai stock market has been under the pressure of foreign sell-off due to political tension as well as poorer-than-expected earning growth of listed companies. As of November 22, the month-to-date foreign net-sell reached Bt30.996 billion. This boosted the year-to-date net-sell to Bt136.25 billion.
Today, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.1 percent to 15,551.28 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.2 percent to 23,732.43. Seoul's Kopsi climbed 0.8 percent to 2,021.52 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 5,360.20. China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.3 percent to 2,203.47.
Appetite for Asian stocks was energised by Wall Street's string of milestones and an easing of political risk signaled by the first significant progress in years to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Iran on Sunday reached an agreement with the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany to limit enrichment of uranium to 5 per cent, far below the level needed for nuclear weapons. Iran got limited relief from sanctions that have hobbled its economy, but an embargo on its oil exports remains in place while negotiations continue for an enduring deal.
Wall Street continued to be lifted by the Federal Reserve's super easy monetary policy, signs of gradual improvement in the U.S. economy and rising company profits.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 54.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,064.77 after Thursday passing 16,000 for the first time. The Nasdaq composite jumped 22.49 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,991.65.
