Thai stocks may fall as politics, 2earnings weigh

BANGKOK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thai shares are set for a weaker start on Wednesday, with simmering political tensions likely to weigh on sentiment and softer corporate earnings prompting caution in some shares, analysts said. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, wanted at home for a graft conviction, arrived in Cambodia to take up a government job offer, firing up a diplomatic row with Bangkok that could worsen Thailand's political crisis. "With this political factor coming back, undeniably it will increasingly add concerns to the market mood, and I think we're going to see the market coming down today," said Sukit Udomsirikul, a strategist at Siam City Securities. PTT, Asia-Pacific's No.3 listed oil and gas firm by market value behind PetroChina and Sinopec, posted a 5 percent drop in quarterly net profit, dented by lower earnings from exploration and refining. "There should be some profit-taking activities of some shares after their earnings result announcement as well," Sukit said, seeing resistance on the Thai main index at 715 and support at 690. On Tuesday, the benchmark SET index edged down 0.7 percent at 708.20 after touching a near-two-week high a day earlier, with energy and building material counters leading the market drop. Foreign investors bought a net 824.06 million baht ($24.7 million) of Thai shares. Click for cumulative trading value by investor type. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 0151 GMT ------------ INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1093.01 -0.01% -0.070 USD/JPY 89.54 -0.3% -0.270 10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4781 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 1106.05 0.07% 0.750 US CRUDE 79.07 0.03% 0.010 DOW JONES 10246.97 0.20% 20.03 ASIA ADRS 124.70 -0.72% -0.91 ------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET SUMMARY > NYMEX-Crude stays close to $79 on stock rise, dollar fall > US STOCKS-Wall St rally stalls but Dow ekes out gain > FOREX-Dlr consolidates, high-yielders await Chinese data > TREASURIES-Prices steady after 10Y note sale > PRECIOUS-Gold steady, remains near record high STOCKS AND FACTORS TO WATCH - PTT Chemical PCL Thailand's largest olefins maker reported a 43 percent fall in third-quarter net profit due mainly to a drop in product spreads from a year earlier. - Thailand and Peru will sign a free trade agreement on the sidelines of a regional trade summit in Singapore, and expect the pact to double their bilateral trade from 2010, a senior Thai official said. - Glow Energy Thailand's third-largest private power producer reported a flat quarterly profit, but it was better than market expectations. - Thai Airways International National carrier plans to lease or buy 11 new passenger planes in 2010-2014 to renew its ageing fleet, an executive said. - Banpu The country's top coal miner said its third-quarter net earnings rose a higher-than-expected 22 percent, helped by higher coal sale volume from Indonesia mines and gains from coal swap. - Land & Houses Thailand's biggest house builder posted a better-than-expected 35 percent rise in quarterly earnings after its home sales surged as consumer confidence improved. - Electricity Generating The second-largest private power producer reported a flat net earnings of 2.01 billion baht in the third quarter, but it was higher than analyst forecast. - Thailand's cabinet agreed that the country should contribute $14 million to an Asian credit guarantee and investment mechanism under the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI), a deputy government spokesman said. - Charoen Pokphand Foods The country's largest chicken exporter said its 2009 net profit could hit a record high of 10 billion baht ($300.6 million) due to strong exports and growing foreign business. - Precious Shipping Thailand's biggest dry bulk shipper said weak demand and global oversupply would make it miss its freight rate revenue target but opened up opportunities to buy more ships. - For the Thai press digest click on - For Thailand's IPO diary click on - For Thailand's stock exchange news click on - For Thailand corporate earnings: - For Thailand economic forecast: ($1=33.30 Baht) (Reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Editing by xx) * ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia........ Japan....... S.Korea... S.E.

Asia....... Hong Kong... Taiwan.... Australia/NZ.... India....... China..... * OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street .... Gold ....... Currency.. Eurostocks..... Oil ........ JP bonds... ADR Report ..... LME metals. US bonds.. Stocks News US.. Stocks News Europe * DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Thailand diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead * TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: U.S. company news European company news Forex news Global Economy news Technology news Telecoms news Media news Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com * LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Thai baht LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS THAILAND/STOCKS ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])) (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.