Thai Shares Tipped To End Losing Streak

The Thai stock market has finished lower in five straight sessions, slipping more than 35 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,370-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the technology and oil companies. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the food, consumer, finance, industrial, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index slid 3.25 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 1,367.42 after trading between 1,364.31 and 1,375.22. Volume was 22.835 billion shares worth 49.580 billion baht. There were 289 decliners and 216 gainers, with 153 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info surged 2.49 percent, while Thailand Airport accelerated 3.15 percent, Asset World retreated 1.55 percent, Banpu plunged 3.57 percent, Bangkok Bank sank 0.70 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical surrendered 1.75 percent, B. Grimm rallied 3.88 percent, BTS Group lost 1.94 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tanked 2.12 percent, Energy Absolute stumbled 1.42 percent, Gulf shed 0.58 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.41 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.62 percent, Krung Thai Card soared 2.34 percent, PTT lost 0.73 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.66 percent, PTT Global Chemical tumbled 1.97 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 0.89 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dropped 0.89 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.37 percent, Thai Oil slid 0.45 percent, True Corporation declined 1.42 percent, TTB Bank gained 0.54 percent and PTT Oil & Retail, CP All Public and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened flat on Friday but accelerated as the day progressed, sending the NASDAQ and S&P to record closing highs.

The Dow advanced 90.98 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 39,087.38, while the NASDAQ jumped 183.04 points or 1.14 percent to close at 16,274.94 and the S&P 500 rallied 40.81 points or 0.80 percent to end at 5,137.08. For the week, the NASDAQ shot up 1.7 percent and the S&P 500 rose 1.0 percent, but the Dow eased 0.1 percent.

The surge by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among computer hardware stocks following upbeat results from Dell (DELL), with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring to a record closing high.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in February. Also, the University of Michigan released revised data showing consumer sentiment unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

The soft data contributed to a downturn by treasury yields, which added to optimism about the Federal Reserve eventually cutting interest rates.

Oil prices rose to a four-month high on Friday, buoyed by reports that oil demand surged to a four-year high in 2023 and will hold near that level again this year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April spiked $1.71 or 2.2 percent at $79.97 a barrel, the highest close since November 6, 2023.