Thai Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Friday

The Thai stock market bounce higher again on Thursday, one day after snapping the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,685-point plateau and it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the release of encouraging U.S. inflation data and what it means for interest rates, although it may already have largely been priced in. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index perked 1.70 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,687.45 after trading between 1,679.99 and 1,690.32. Volume was 16.783 billion shares worth 72.809 billion baht. There were 816 decliners and 674 gainers, with 548 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.01 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.34 percent, Asset World and Bangkok Dusit Medical both dropped 0.83 percent, Banpu sank 0.81 percent, Bangkok Bank slumped 0.96 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.53 percent, B. Grimm gained 0.60 percent, BTS Group improved 0.58 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.83 percent, Energy Absolute shed 0.55 percent, Gulf tanked 2.26 percent, Kasikornbank increased 0.97 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.56 percent, Krung Thai Card gathered 0.43 percent, PTT Oil & Retail declined 1.24 percent, PTT perked 0.75 percent, PTT Exploration and Production strengthened 0.90 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.50 percent, SCG Packaging rose 0.44 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 0.44 percent, Siam Concrete weakened 0.84 percent, Thai Oil surrendered 0.90 percent, True Corporation eased 0.41 percent, TTB Bank was down 0.69 percent and CP All Public was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday and finally settled solidly in positive territory.

The Dow climbed 216.96 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 34,189.97, while the NASDAQ gained 69.43 points or 0.64 percent to close at 11,001.10 and the S&P 500 rose 13.56 points or 0.34 percent to end at 3,983.17.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street followed the release of highly anticipated consumer price inflation data, which largely was in line with forecasts.

The slower price growth eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to raise rates by at least 25 basis points at its next meeting.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday, gaining for a sixth straight session on a weaker dollar and data showing a slowdown in U.S. inflation. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February added $0.98 or 1.3 percent at $78.39 a barrel.