The Thai stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,700-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on fading hopes for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.
The SET finished modestly higher following gains from the properties and mixed performances from the financials and energy companies.
For the day, the index rose 8.66 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 1,698.40 after trading between 1,692.73 and 1,702.67. Volume was 30.457 billion shares worth 97.951 billion baht. There were 996 gainers and 830 decliners, with 592 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.84 percent, while Asset World and PTT Oil & Retail both climbed 1.00 percent, Banpu tanked 2.61 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.37 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical tumbled 1.96 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.58 percent, BTS Group advanced 1.10 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.94 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods improved 0.82 percent, Central Pattana surged 5.26 percent, Energy Absolute gathered 1.03 percent, Gulf rallied 2.50 percent, IRPC shed 0.56 percent, Kasikornbank gained 0.95 percent, Krung Thai Bank was up 0.74 percent, PTT Exploration and Production declined 1.66 percent, PTT Global Chemical slumped 1.46 percent, SCG Packaging soared 2.95 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.44 percent, Siam Concrete increased 0.79 percent, True Corporation accelerated 1.98 percent, TTB Bank perked 0.77 percent and Thailand Airport, Total Access Communication, Krung Thai Card and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and largely spent the entire day in the red.
The Dow shed 65.38 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 35,228.81, while the NASDAQ tumbled 177.36 points or 1.21 percent to end at 14,442.27 and the S&P 500 lost 29.15 points or 0.63 percent to close at 4,602.45.
The major U.S. averages ended lower Wednesday on news that Russia has continued to shell certain areas of Ukraine despite having promised to scale down military operations on Tuesday.
Rising worries about inflation and imminent aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve also weighed on sentiment.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. climbed more than expected in March. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew slightly less than estimated in Q4 2021.
Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. inventories last week, and amid a lack of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $3.58 or 3.4 percent at $107.82 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will release February figures for retail sales, current account and its coincident index later today. In January, sales jumped 11.5 percent on year, the current account deficit was $2.2 billion and the score on the coincident index was 129.5.
Market Analysis
Resistance Expected At 1,700 Points
2022-03-31 02:30:19
