Thai Stock Market May Extend Wednesday’s Gains

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 eased more than 5 points or 0.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,635-point plateau although it figures to move higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on encouraging corporate results and rising crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets mostly saw mild upside and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The SET finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index added 7.16 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1,637.55 after trading between 1,632.62 and 1,639.41. Volume was 28.169 billion shares worth 67.918 billion baht. There were 857 gainers and 728 decliners, with 677 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.53 percent, while Thailand Airport sank 0.76 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.26 percent, Bangkok Expressway advanced 1.12 percent, BTS Group skidded 1.05 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.97 percent, Delta Electronics gained 0.88 percent, IRPC jumped 1.32 percent, Kasikornbank gathered 1.06 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.86 percent, Krung Thai Card spiked 1.82 percent, PTT Oil & Retail improved 0.90 percent, PTT Exploration and Production perked 0.41 percent, PTT Global Chemical increased 1.15 percent, SCG Packaging soared 2.43 percent, Siam Commercial Bank surged 2.45 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.25 percent, TTB Bank accelerated 2.70 percent and Bangkok Dusit Medical, Gulf and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday. The Dow and S&P 500 remained well in the green and finished that way, while the NASDAQ hugged the unchanged line and ended slightly in the red.

The Dow climbed 152.03 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 35,609.34, while the NASDAQ dipped 7.41 points or 0.05 percent to close at 15,121.68 and the S&P 500 rose 16.56 points or 0.37 percent to end at 4,536.19.

The continued strength on Wall Street came as traders reacted positively to another batch of largely upbeat corporate earnings news.

Traders largely shrugged off the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which noted the pace of U.S. economic growth has recently slowed due to supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and uncertainty around the Delta variant of COVID-19.

The Fed also said employment increased at a modest to moderate rate in recent weeks, as demand for workers was high, but labor growth was dampened by a low supply of workers.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while increased demand also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up by $0.98 or 1.2 percent at $83.42 a barrel.