Thai shares down on US rate guesswork
Play
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index edged downward today, as investors tried to second-guess the US Federal Reserve on the timing of its next interest rate hike.
The Index ended the day at 1,544.15 points, down by 5.26 points or 0.34 per cent, on turnover of Bt51 billion. Foreign investors remained net-buyers of Thai shares, with net purchases of Bt1.8 billion. Month to date, the foreign net-buys were tuned at nearly Bt32 billion.
Stock markets across the world dipped with the exception of Tokyo. In a much-scrutinized speech, Fed chief Janet Yellen on Friday hinted at a US interest rate rise by the end of the year.
Yellen said a pick-up in the world's top economy and an improvement in the jobs market meant "the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months".
She gave no timeframe during her speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium of global central bankers, but Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer later said September was a possibility.
