Thai shares drop as baht rises further |
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Published
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Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:23
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BANGKOK (Thomson Financial) - Thai share prices dropped 0.35 percent in morning trading Thursday on profit-taking, but remained near 10-year highs, as the baht kept gaining strength.Investors took profits on big-cap stocks, mainly energy-related shares, with foreign investors still pouring money into the market.The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index slipped 2.86 points to 822.59, while the blue-chip SET 50 index shed 2.73 points to 587.54.But the baht rose further against the US dollar, strengthening to 34.01 baht to the greenback in morning trading from Wednesday's close of 34.20 baht.The main index had risen to 833 points in early trading.Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice-president of Thanachart Securities, said: 'The Thai market jumped too fast and too far, surging by 50 points over the past three days.'He said: 'Volume remains strong on profit-taking of big-cap stocks, with foreign investors still net buyers.'The main index had jumped by 6.1 percent over the past three days to reach its highest level since the 1997 financial crisis, on optimism about Thailand's economic and political prospects.Stocks are still at their highest levels since July 2, 1997, when the Bank of Thailand floated the baht and sparked a financial meltdown in East Asia.Strong inflows, coupled with worry that the baht will rise further, prompted exporters to buy the baht. The exchange rate has appreciated by almost six percent since the beginning of the year.But Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said Thursday that the appreciation would be short-term.'A huge inflow into the stock market would be only a short-term phenomenon,' he said.'The Bank of Thailand can manage the current situation,' he told reporters.afp/jmjm/jmCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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