Thai stocks plunge nearly 5 per cent on domestic factors

BANGKOK, Oct 15 (TNA) – Thai stocks plunged nearly five per cent by the end of morning trading Thursday on negative domestic factors.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was down by 4.69 per cent to 697.13 points after it dived to the lowest level of the morning trade to 629.61 with a heavy trading value of Bt28.44 billion.

Large-capitalised stocks were among the top selling including PTT, PTTEP, Banpu and Bangkok Bank.

The negative domestic factors which affected the market were the political situation and the uncertainty for the investments of 76 industrial projects at Map Ta Put.

The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) or the so-called Red Shirts plan to stage a major protests in the capital on October17 and 24.

The Central Administrative Court last month ordered 76 industrial projects in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in the eastern seaboard province of Rayong to temporarily halt operations amid continuing concerns about critical environmental and health impacts.

Mounting concerns by investors over the court’s order to suspend industrial projects in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and the non-governmental organisations’ threat to seek the same injunction against operations of 500 more projects were other reasons behind the SET index plunge.

The SET index fell 2 per cent on Wednesday to close at 731.47, its largest decline in nearly two months. (TNA)