Thai stocks may be range-bound; GDP data in focus

BANGKOK: Thai stocks may move narrowly on Monday because of worries about the impact of a weakening US economy and debt problems in Europe, but beaten-down blue chips may lure bargain-hunters, brokers said.

Market players will look for clues on the outlook for the domestic economy in second-quarter economic data due at 0230 GMT along with forecasts for this year and next from the state planning agency, which compiles Thailand's GDP data.

The export-driven economy is forecast by economists to have expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in the second quarter from the first.

"The index may see a 'sideways' trading pattern today," said senior strategist Teerada Charnyingyong at broker Phillip Securities.

"External factors are negative but there's a chance of an intraday rebound as a positive domestic economy and the government's pro-growth policies should help the market," she said.

The benchmark SET index fell 1.83 percent to 1,069.20 on Friday as big caps came under selling pressure, led by a 3.3 percenet fall in Thailand's biggest energy firm, PTT .

The market had foreign outflows of 6.4 billion Thai baht ($214.7 million), the exchange said.

Broker Phillip expects the main index to move in a range of 1,079 to 1,050.

Asian stocks fell slightly on Monday, expanding last week's steep losses, and gold hit another new high as investors continued to worry about the economic outlook in the United States and European debt woes.

At 0125 GMT, the MSCI index of Asia excluding Japan was 0.2 percent higher.

Copyright Reuters, 2011