Thai Stock Market May See Additional Support On Tuesday

The Thai stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,525-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic after heavy selling in the previous week. The European and U.S. markets finished mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the food, energy, technology and finance shares were capped by weakness from the industrials.

For the day, the index improved 6.73 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1,525.85 after trading between 1,514.70 and 1,529.34. Volume was 12.174 billion shares worth 46.034 billion baht. There were 283 gainers and 200 decliners, with 165 stocks finishing unchanged,

Among the actives, Thailand Airport slid 0.35 percent, while Asset World lost 0.50 percent, Banpu spiked 1.73 percent, Bangkok Expressway rose 0.57 percent, B. Grimm improved 0.70 percent, CP All Public gained 0.81 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.52 percent, Energy Absolute surged 2.62 percent, Gulf soared 2.08 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.39 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 1.54 percent, Krung Thai Card jumped 1.66 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 1.00 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 1.26 percent, SCG Packaging shed 0.68 percent, Siam Concrete fell 0.32 percent, Thai Oil was up 1.45 percent, True Corporation strengthened 1.47 percent and TTB Bank, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, PTT Global Chemical, Advanced Info, PTT, Bangkok Dusit Medical and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, slumped midday but recovered late, although the Dow still finished in the red.

The Dow shed 36.97 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,463.69, while the NASDAQ jumped 206.81 points or 1.56 percent to end at 13,497.59 and the S&P 500 gained 30.06 points or 0.69 percent to close at 4,399.77.

The spike by the NASDAQ came as traders picked up tech stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the index bouncing off its lowest closing level in two months.

Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) helped to fuel the tech rally after reporting standout gains, while Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) weighed on the Dow.

Traders continued to look ahead to the economic summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where major central bankers are congregating later in the week to deliberate on monetary policy.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand, although the extension of production cuts by OPEC helped limit the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $80.72 a barrel. WTI Crude futures for October settled at $80.12 a barrel, down $0.54 or 0.7 percent.

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