Thai Hot Stocks - Tipco Asphalt down, TTA, BEC up

(Adds TASC, TTA, BEC)

BANGKOK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Thailand's benchmark stock index .SETI was up 0.50 points, or 0.06 percent, at 885.03 points in thin turnover of 6.4 billion baht ($187 million) at 0737 GMT on Thursday.

Stocks on the move included:

- Tipco Asphalt PCL TASC.BK fell 1.7 percent to 28.25 baht on analyst expectations its third-quarter net profit would fall sharply from a year earlier.

Asia Plus Securities said in a research note it expected Tipco's asphalt sales to fall 15 percent to 2.39 billion baht in the third quarter and operating profit to drop 31 percent to 61 million baht.

The broker rated the stock a "hold" with a 2008 target price of 28.85 baht.

0738 GMT

- Shipper Thoresen Thai Agencies PCL TTA.BK jumped 3.13 percent to 66 baht following a four percent rise of shares in its subsidiary Mermaid Maritime Public Co (MMPC.SI), which made its trading debut earlier this week in Singapore.

Broker Globlex said in a research note TTA was likely to report higher third-quarter net profit due to rising freight rates.