The Thai stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 30 points or 2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau and it’s expected to move higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to solid earnings news and rising crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index advanced 13.67 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 1,590.46 after trading between 1,583.98 and 1,592.90. Volume was 30.960 billion shares worth 89.565 billion baht. There were 887 gainers and 699 decliners, with 503 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.29 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.40 percent, Asset World dropped 0.83 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.41 percent, BTS Group climbed 1.12 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.87 percent, Gulf gained 0.73 percent, Kasikornbank spiked 2.28 percent, Krung Thai Bank improved 0.88 percent, PTT Oil & Retail accelerated 2.50 percent, PTT soared 3.18 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 3.45 percent, SCG Packaging perked 2.83 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rose 0.96 percent, Siam Concrete rallied 3.10 percent, TMB Bank tumbled 1.68 percent and Bangkok Asset Management, Bangkok Dusit Medical and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up positive after the major averages saw wild fluctuations on Thursday before finally ending firmly in the green.
The Dow jumped 239.98 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 34,060 .36, while the NASDAQ added 31.52 points or 0.22 percent to end at 14,082.55 and the S&P 500 rose 28.29 points or 0.68 percent to close at 4,211.47.
The higher close on Wall Street came following upbeat earnings news from tech giants like Qualcomm (QCOM), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB).
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to a new pandemic-era low last week. Also, the Commerce Department noted an acceleration in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the first three months of 2021.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand following a drop in U.S. petroleum product supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $1.15 or 1.8 percent at $65.01 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will release March numbers for current account and its coincident index later today, plus February figures for retail sales. In February, the current account deficit was $1.07 billion and the coincident index had a score of 126.7. Retail sales tumbled 8.0 percent on year in January.
Market Analysis
Thai Stock Market May Test Resistance At 1,600 Points
2021-04-30 02:30:16
