Credit Rating Creates Jitters
May 17, 2011
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index fell 14.71 to 1049.74. About 52.8 million shares valued at 3.26 billion baht changed hands, compared with 73.8 million shares worth 4.50 billion baht Tuesday. The select SET 50 index fell 1.21 to 79.72. Declining stocks outnumbered advances 262 to 77, excluding foreign shares. Dealers attributed the slump to tension in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. government confirmed Wednesday it launched a second missile attack on Iraq as a response to Iraqi army attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. The impact from Moody's Investors Service downgrade of Thailand's short-term sovereign rating Tuesday remained visible, though to a lesser degree, dealers said. Among stocks with the biggest influence on the exchange, banking and finance stocks suffered the sharpest decline. Finance One, Thailand's biggest finance company, dropped 3 baht to 101 baht. Krungthai Thanakit dropped 2 baht to 101 baht a share. The finance-sector index fell 2.9%
