Stock Market plummets in wake of tsunami

BANGKOK: -- The Thai stock market fell by 6.49 points today as investors rushed to sell off stocks in hotel groups following yesterday’s devastating tidal wave attack.

Almost immediately it opened this morning, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) plummeted by 14.76 points to stand at 655.59 points, before rallying to close at 663.86 points in the afternoon on the back of trading worth over Bt15.4 billion.

Worst affected were stocks in hotel companies, with investors noticeably jittery over the tsunamis which smashed into beach resorts yesterday morning.

An analyst from the Soros company attributed the heavy selling to the psychological effects of the disaster, which he said would have a direct impact on the tourism industry, with hotels, restaurants and insurance companies particularly badly hit.

However, he noted that the stock market had picked up slightly in the afternoon, with foreign and small-scale investors making purchases in the food, construction and medical sectors.

--TNA 2004-12-27

Investors warned not to panic upon concern of economic effects

BANGKOK: -- The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)’s President Kittirat Na Ranong today warned investors not to panic and dump shares upon concern of economic impacts from the tsunami, which shook the countrt's southern Andaman Sea coastlines yesterday’s morning, saying it would have the effects only on the

short run.

He said he did not want to see the investors sell their shares in panic like that in the 9-11 tragic terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.

"At that time, most investors felt frightened and dumped their shares at any prices, causing them to lose when the share prices recovered. Their decision was wrong because it was based on their panicky feeling", he cautioned.

Mr. Kittirat said the tsunami, caused by a world strongest earthquake in Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, had repercussions on many countries, triggering the share price to fall in the regional capital markets.

However, he believed the impacts would be felt in the short term and in specific sectors such as tourism.

So, he suggested, the investors better take this opportunity to accumulate shares with strong fundamentals into their portfolio.

The SET index plunged into more than 14 points upon the opening of trading this morning before recouping the loss and closing the morning session at 660 points, down 10.35 or 1.54% with a moderate trading volume of 9.39 billion baht.

--TNA 2004-12-27

Stock Market plummets in wake of tsunami 

BANGKOK: -- The Thai stock market fell by 6.49 points today as investors rushed to sell off stocks in hotel groups following yesterday’s devastating tidal wave attack.

Almost immediately it opened this morning, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) plummeted by 14.76 points to stand at 655.59 points, before rallying to close at 663.86 points in the afternoon on the back of trading worth over Bt15.4 billion.

--TNA 2004-12-27

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Calling that a plummet, is a bit of a stretch. I was impressed with the strength that it exhibited.

It's a big question how much this will affect the Tourist numbers, a Danish travel group left Denmark for a holiday to day, and out of 180 booked passengers 165 went on the flight, you can't plan your life on natural disastours or terrrorisms, it's dangerous to live, and you will die one way or the other.

Plummet? Not hardly. Only the open was a gap-down. The next several days will determine whether investors consider this event significant. Six points down is nothing for the SET. When it really gets going, drops/jumps of 30 points in a day are the real thing.