(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower now in two of three sessions since the end of the modest two-day winning streak in which it had gathered 10 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is clinging to support at 700 points, but now investors are anticipating heavy losses when the market opens for business on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, thanks to continued selling pressure among the technology and financial stocks. Commodities are also under pressure, with oil stocks expected to ease and gold stocks may see profit taking after hitting another fresh record high. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower, and the Asian bourses are also expected to track to the downside.

The SET finished modestly lower on Thursday, weakened by selling among the energy stocks and the financials.

For the day, the index fell 6.84 points or 0.97 percent to finish at 700.42 after trading between 699.09 and 706.49. Volume was 2.794 billion shares worth 14.055 billion baht. There were 248 decliners and 83 gainers, with 119 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the decliners, energy giant PTT was off 2.51 percent, while PTT Exploration and Production lost 2.19 percent, coal producer Banpu shed 2.42 percent and Siam Commercial Bank fell 1.48 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firmly negative as stocks moved considerably lower on Thursday, with some disappointing economic data prompting traders to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. The major averages all closed in negative territory, backing further off of the one-year highs set on Tuesday.

Before the start of trading, the Labor Department reported that first-time jobless claims in the week ended November 14th came in at 505,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge up to 504,000 from the 502,000 originally reported for the previous week. With jobless claims unchanged, they remained above the 500,000 level, pointing to continued weakness in the labor market. Jobless claims have not been below 500,000 since coming in at 488,000 in the week ended January 3rd.

Separately, the Conference Board reported a continued increase in its leading economic indicators index in the month of October, although the increase by the index was slightly smaller than economists had been anticipating. The leading indicators index rose 0.3 percent in October following a 1.0 percent gain in September and a 0.4 percent increase in August. While the index rose for the seventh consecutive month, economists had been expecting a 0.4 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia provided one of the few bright spots on the day, releasing a report showing that activity in the mid-Atlantic region’s manufacturing sector picked up in November by much more than economists had expected. The Philly Fed said its index of regional activity in the manufacturing sector rose to 16.7 in November from 11.5 in October, with a positive reading indicating growth in the sector. Economists had been expecting a much more modest increase by the index to 12.2.

In other news, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that the U.S. has a long way to go to ensure a full economic recovery and guarantee that last year’s financial collapse will not happen again in the future. Speaking before the congressional Joint Economic Committee on Capitol Hill earlier today, Geithner said that the regulatory regime that is currently in place is the same regime that failed to prevent the financial crisis, filled with too many agencies and too many regulatory gaps.

The major averages ended the session firmly in negative territory, although well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell by 93.87 points or 0.9 percent to 10,332.44, the NASDAQ dropped by 36.32 points or 1.7 percent to 2,156.82 and the S&P 500 closed down by 14.90 points or 1.3 percent at 1,094.90.

In economic news, Thailand will on Friday provide October numbers for imports, exports and trade balance, as well as foreign reserves for the week ending November 13. Imports are expected to fall 16.5 percent on year following the 17.9 percent annual contraction in September. Exports are seen down 5 percent on year after the 8.5 percent annual decline in the previous month. The trade balance is forecast to show a surplus of $1.48 billion, down from the $1.98 billion surplus a month earlier. Foreign reserves are tipped to climb 140 percent on year after adding 135.7 percent in the previous week.

Also, Thailand’s economy is expected to expand 3.5 percent next year after contracting between 3 percent and 3.5 percent this year, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday.

Abhisit said the government is confident that the economy will grow in the final quarter of 2009 and he noted that the global economy has passed the worst.

The Bank of Thailand forecasts economic growth of 3.3 percent-3.5 percent in 2010. In October, the central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent for a fourth straight rate-setting session to support the economy.

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Posted in Categories: Eurozone, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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