Thai Shares End: Investors Sidelined; Bird Flu Mtg

[george]

Thai Shares End: Investors Sidelined; Bird Flu Mtg

BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thai shares plunged 2.3% Wednesday in lackluster trade, due mainly to lingering worries over the outbreak of bird flu in the country, analysts said.

The avian flu epidemic has spread to about a third of Thailand's provinces, including the capital of Bangkok. The government has confirmed two human deaths from the disease.

"Worries over the impact of bird flu prompted investors to unload shares," Rakpong Chaisuparakul, a strategist at KGI Securities.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index closed down 17.33 points, or 2.3%, at 722.14. The blue-chip SET 50 index was down 1.00 point, or 2.1%, at 47.35 points. The Market for Alternative Investment Index, the board for small capitalization stocks, closed down 5.48 points, or 1.6%, at 334.60.

Decliners led advancers 280 to 51.

Trading volume was thin with 1.61 billion shares worth 23.16 billion baht ($1=THB39.095), compared with 1.91 billion shares worth THB30.73 billion Tuesday.

Analysts said many investors remained on the sidelines, awaiting the outcome of an international conference Wednesday on strategies to fight bird flu.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Wednesday acknowledged that a pan-Asian bird flu outbreak is posing a serious threat to public health and the region's economies.

Warning that the bird flu virus was "no less deadly than SARS," Thaksin called for "quick, decisive action" to contain the spread of the disease in the region and avert a global pandemic among humans.

National carrier Thai Airways International plunged THB2.50, or 4.8%, to THB50, due to concerns over the possible impact of the bird flu outbreak on the tourism sector.

"The bird flu outbreak has a psychological impact on the tourism industry," said an analyst at Seamico Securities.

Kim Eng Securities lost THB2.50, or 4.2%, to THB57.50 on a sharp drop of trading volume, while Seamico Securities plunged THB1.10, or 9.6%, to THB10.40.

Kasikornbank was down THB3, or 5.3%, to THB54.

Analysts said the index should move in a range of 720-730 points Wednesday.

--Yahoo News 2004-01-28