Thai Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Wednesday

The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,615-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the green again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on earnings optimism and ahead of the FOMC’s monetary policy announcement later today. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index rose 4.11 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,617.89 after trading between 1,608.64 and 1,621.69. Volume was 28.890 billion shares worth 76.900 billion baht. There were 1,135 decliners and 575 gainers, with 542 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info jumped 1.86 percent, while Thailand Airport advanced 0.78 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.22 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.84 percent, CP All Public perked 0.78 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.99 percent, Delta Electronics rallied 1.46 percent, IRPC spiked 2.83 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.71 percent, Krung Thai Bank improved 0.87 percent, Krung Thai Card rose 0.44 percent, PTT Exploration and Production accelerated 1.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical sank 0.80 percent, SCG Packaging fell 0.40 percent, Siam Commercial Bank surged 4.00 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.25 percent, True Corporation was down 0.49 percent and TTB Bank, Bangkok Expressway, BTS Group, Gulf, PTT Oil & Retail and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages immediately shook off a soft open in Tuesday and moved into the green, finishing the day at fresh record highs.

The Dow climbed 138.79 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 36,052.63, while the NASDAQ gained 53.69 points or 0.34 percent to close at 15,649.60 and the S&P 500 rose 16.98 points or 0.37 percent to end at 4,630.65.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, as traders reacted to another batch of upbeat earnings news from the likes of athletic apparel maker Under Armour (UAA), drugmaker Pfizer (PFE) and chemical company DuPont (DD).

Overall trading activity was subdued, however, as traders were reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Fed announcement. The Fed is expected to announce plans to begin scaling back its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases by next month.

The language of the Fed’s statement is likely to be in focus as traders look for clues about the outlook for interest rates amid concerns about the high rate of inflation.

Crude oil futures settled lower Tuesday on concerns about growth after data showed a slowdown in Eurozone manufacturing activity amid rising input costs. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December settled at $83.91 a barrel, losing $0.14 or 0.2 percent.

Market Analysis