Thai Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

The Thai stock market has finished higher in six straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 1.3 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,651-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the communications sector and mixed performances from the financials and energy stocks.

For the day, the index rose 6.42 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 1,651.02 after trading between 1,642.50 and 1,653.68. Volume was 30.371 billion shares worth 76.537 billion baht. There were 799 gainers and 781 decliners, with 635 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.25 percent, while Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.82 percent, BTS Group climbed 1.03 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods sank 0.80 percent, Total Access Communications surged 5.13 percent, Gulf added 0.61 percent, IRPC shed 0.51 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.33 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.84 percent, Krung Thai Card dropped 0.84 percent, PTT lost 0.66 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.42 percent, PTT Global Chemical gained 0.82 percent, SCG Packaging jumped 1.18 percent, Siam Commercial Bank declined 0.74 percent, Siam Concrete was up 0.25 percent and TTB Bank, Thailand Airport, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Expressway, CP All Public and PTT Oil & Retail were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.

The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.

In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.