Thai Bourse Tipped To End Losing Streak

The Thai stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 15 points or 1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,650-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after selling and uncertainty earlier in the week. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the energy producers and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index slid 7.01 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 1,652.47 after trading between 1,647.37 and 1,658.92. Volume was 15.190 billion shares worth 56.105 billion baht. There were 879 decliners and 587 gainers, with 528 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.96 percent, while Thailand Airport gained 0.69 percent, Asset World soared 3.42 percent, Banpu advanced 0.89 percent, Bangkok Bank perked 0.31 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical stumbled 1.67 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.55 percent, B. Grimm lost 0.64 percent, BTS Group shed 0.62 percent, CP All Public tanked 2.26 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods was up 0.44 percent, Energy Absolute dropped 0.93 percent, Gulf tumbled 1.84 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.37 percent, Krung Thai Bank slid 0.58 percent, PTT Oil & Retail weakened 0.87 percent, PTT retreated 1.53 percent, PTT Exploration and Production declined 1.28 percent, PTT Global Chemical plunged 2.05 percent, SCG Packaging was down 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete increased 0.60 percent, Thai Oil plummeted 5.33 percent and TTB Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Krung Thai Card were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, slumped midday but rebounded to end firmly in the green.

The Dow climbed 108.82 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 33,153.91, while the NASDAQ jumped 83.33 points or 0.72 percent to close at 11,590.40 and the S&P 500 rose 21.27 points or 0.53 percent to end at 4,012.32.

Buying interest remained somewhat subdued as interest rate concerns continued to hang over the markets following Wednesday’s release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed minutes offered few surprised but reiterated that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates in its battle against inflation.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted an unexpected dip in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, while the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew by slightly less than estimated Q4 of 2022.

After trending lower in recent sessions, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Thursday, despite a bigger than expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $1.44 or 2.0 percent to $75.39 a barrel.