Share Prices Are Mixed
May 11, 2011
The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index slipped 0.25 to 1105.59 on volume of about 57.1 million shares. Advancers led decliners 151 to 135. The select SET 50 Index lost 0.21 to 84.42. Analysts said weak corporate earnings from Barge City Cement, Thailand's third-largest cement producer, added to worries that economic growth is faltering. The company's first-half net profit slumped 48% to 630.5 million baht. Siam City Cement fell 6 baht to 187. Fearing that weak growth could continue into the second half, investors started taking profit on banking stocks, analysts said. Thai Farmers Bank slipped 1 baht to 174, Siam Commercial Bank shed 2 baht to 262 and Bangkok Bank was unchanged at 218. The banking sector index fell 0.41%. While local investors bought, foreign investors sold because of the latest batch of economic data released by the Bank of Thailand Thursday. Investors were most concerned over the negative balance of payments, which was 17.1 billion baht for July, compared with a surplus of 20.5 billion baht in June. Analysts said the weak figures were partly caused by the central bank's efforts to lift the baht in foreign-exchange markets. Finance companies also fell. Finance One slipped 2 baht to 108, Dhana Siam Finance & Securities shed 1 baht to 115 and Krungthai Thanakit lost 2 baht to 108. The finance-sector index fell 0.62%.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
