![The Stock Exchange of Thailand index plunged to its lowest close in over three months on Wednesday. (Reuters photo)](https://static.bangkokpost.com/media/content/20180404/c1_1440642.jpg)
The Stock Exchange of Thailand nosedived in line with most Southeast Asian stocks on Wednesday as China swiftly retaliated against the Trump administration's plans to impose tariffs on Chinese goods with duties on key US imports, heightening worries of a trade war between the two countries.
The SET main index slumped 40.26 points or 2.28% to close at 1,724.98, in trade worth 93.16 billion baht. It was the index's lowest close in over three months.
Thai shares fell largely due to external factors as investors worry about a trade war, said Teerada Charnyingyong, an analyst at Phillip Capital Thailand.
"From a technical point of view, it couldn't break above 1,760 which is quite an important psychological level for the Thai stock market," the analyst added. Kasikornbank Plc shed 7.8% while Siam Commercial Bank Plc fell 2.4%.
The speed with which the trade struggle between Washington and Beijing is ratcheting up -- the Chinese government took less than 11 hours to respond with its own measures -- led to a sharp selloff in global stock markets and commodities including European stocks.
Beijing's list of additional 25% tariffs on US goods covers 106 items with a trade value matching the US$50 billion targeted on Washington's list, China's commerce and finance ministries said. The effective date depends on when the US action takes effect.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell as much as 1.3% to its lowest in over one month.
Singapore, one of the more expensive markets in Asia and highly exposed to global trade, ended 2.1% lower at its lowest since October 2017.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd fell 2.6%, hitting a near 2-month low, while Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd dropped 3.2%, hitting an over 1-month low.
Malaysian shares ended the session 1.9% down at a near two-month closing low.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd fell 4.2% and 1.7% lower, respectively.
Indonesian shares ended the session 1.2% lower. The index of the country's 45 most liquid stocks fell 1.3%.
Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) TBK PT shed 4.1% and Bank Mandiri (Persero) TBK PT fell 2.6%.
Vietnam shares were the only gainers in the region, rising 0.3%, helped by Vingroup JSC, which jumped 4.3% to a record closing high, while Vietnam Dairy Products JSC gained 3.3%.
Southeast Asian stock markets |
|
||
|
Current |
Previous |
% change |
Thailand |
1,724.98 |
1,765.24 |
-2.28 |
Indonesia |
6,157.09 |
6,229.01 |
-1.15 |
Malaysia |
1,815.94 |
1,850.78 |
-1.88 |
Philippines |
7,997.67 |
8.048.72 |
-0.63 |
Singapore |
3,339.70 |
3,412.15 |
-2.12 |
Vietnam |
1,191.54 |
1,188.29 |
+0.27 |