The Thai stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost a dozen points or 0.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,565-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive following upbeat guidance from the FOMC. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished slightly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the energy producers.
For the day, the index rose 2.73 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 1,566.76 points after trading between 1,559.22 and 1,571.53. Volume was 28.729 billion shares worth 92.178 billion baht. There were 994 decliners and 591 gainers, with 482 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.58 percent, while Asset World jumped 1.89 percent, Bangkok Asset Management lost 0.46 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.40 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical added 0.46 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.16 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.83 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.38 percent, PTT Oil & Retail skyrocketed 10.92 percent, PTT fell 0.61 percent, PTT Exploration and Production spiked 1.72 percent, PTT Global Chemical tanked 2.21 percent, SCG Packaging improved 1.10 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gained 0.91 percent, Siam Concrete sank 0.79 percent, TMB Bank perked 1.64 percent and Thailand Airport, BTS Group, Gulf and Krung Thai Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved higher Wednesday following the FOMC’s guidance, sending the Dow and S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.
The Dow jumped 189.42 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 33,015.37, while the NASDAQ gained 53.63 points or 0.40 percent to end at 13,525.20 and the S&P 500 rose 11.41 points or 0.29 percent to close at 3,974.12.
The higher close on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve forecast stronger economic growth and higher inflation this year but indicated it expects to keep interest rates at near-zero levels through 2023.
The Fed provided updated forecasts along with the announcement of the its universally expected decision to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at zero to 0.25 percent.
The central bank also reiterated it plans to continue purchasing bonds at a rate of at least $120 billion per month until “substantial further progress” has been made toward its policy goals.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, weighed down by another jump in U.S. crude stockpiles and concerns over the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.20 or 0.3 percent at $64.60 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Additional Support Predicted For Thai Stock Market
2021-03-18 02:33:03
