Thai Stock Market Poised To Add To Wednesday’s Gains

The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 40 points or 2.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,670-point plateau and it’s expected to see additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on slightly easing geopolitical concerns and more bargain hunting, especially among technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The SET finished sharply higher on Wednesday with gains across the board, especially from the financials and technology stocks.

For the day, the index jumped 23.56 points or 1.43 percent to finish at 1,667.92 after trading between 1,653.87 and 1,668.95. Volume was 27.367 billion shares worth 78.168 billion baht. There were 1,466 gainers and 493 decliners, with 436 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.29 percent, while Thailand Airport advanced 1.19 percent, Asset World strengthened 1.65 percent, Banpu jumped 1.85 percent, Bangkok Bank rallied 1.87 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical tanked 2.88 percent, Bangkok Expressway improved 1.15 percent, BTS Group increased 1.64 percent, Com7 soared 4.32 percent, CP All Public gathered 1.50 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods gained 1.67 percent, Energy Absolute added 0.88 percent, Gulf accelerated 2.09 percent, IRPC shed 0.55 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 2.52 percent, KCE Electronics skyrocketed 9.57 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 2.24 percent, PTT perked 0.65 percent, PTT Exploration and Production advanced 1.03 percent, PTT Global Chemical was up 0.50 percent, SCG Packaging jumped 1.73 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rallied 2.55 percent, Siam Concrete improved 0.79 percent, True Corporation increased 1.65 percent, TTB Bank spiked 1.53 percent and PTT Oil & Retail was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 518.76 points or 1.55 percent to finish at 34,063.10, while the NASDAQ soared 487.93 points or 3.77 percent to end at 13,437.55 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.41 points or 2.24 percent to close at 4,357.86.

The rally came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates for the first time since December of 2018 in an effort to combat inflation at 40-year highs. The Fed raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.25 to 0.5 percent.

The central bank also predicted ongoing rate hikes will be appropriate, with the Fed’s latest projections pointing to an interest rate of 1.9 percent by the end of the year. It also expects to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at a coming meeting.

Optimism about a potential diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine also generated buying interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an address to the nation that the positions in the negotiations were beginning to “sound more realistic.”

Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday, extending losses to a third straight session after data showed a surprise surge in U.S. crude inventories, and amid hopes of some progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $1.40 or 1.5 percent at $95.04 a barrel.