The Thai stock market has moved higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had dropped almost 40 points or 2.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,565-point plateau although it’s likely to head south again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower on sliding crude oil prices and concern over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat, while the U.S. bourses were down – and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the energy producers.
For the day, the index climbed 17.64 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 1,566.80 after trading between 1,558.85 and 1,570.37. Volume was 33.725 billion shares worth 98.214 billion baht. There were 986 gainers and 696 decliners, with 398 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.48 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.41 percent, Asset World spiked 3.02 percent, Bangkok Asset Management rallied 2.25 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.43 percent, Bangkok Expressway accelerated 2.67 percent, BTS Group advanced 1.16 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods jumped 1.82 percent, Kasikornbank gathered 1.64 percent, PTT Oil & Retail surged 3.54 percent, PTT perked 0.63 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 2.11 percent, PTT Global Chemical lost 0.37 percent, SCG Packaging skidded 1.30 percent, Siam Commercial Bank improved 1.00 percent, Siam Concrete increased 1.35 percent, TTB Bank was up 0.89 percent and Bangkok Dusit Medical, Gulf, Krung Thai Bank and True Corporation were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened mixed on Tuesday but accelerated into the red as the day progressed.
The Dow shed 267.13 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 34,060.66, while the NASDAQ lost 75.41 points or 0.56 percent to end at 13,303.64 and the S&P 500 fell 35.46 points or 0.85 percent to close at 4,127.83.
The soft finish from Wall Street indicated concerns ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April monetary policy meeting later today, which may provide clues for plans of monetary tightening.
Strong earnings announcements from Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) helped keep the undertone positive early on in the session, but the mood turned cautious as the day progressed and stocks started paring gains on selling pressure.
In economic news, the Commerce Department showed housing starts in the U.S. tumbled in April, while a separate report showed that building permits rose roughly as expected.
Crude oil futures settled lower Tuesday, weighed down by signs of progress in the Iran nuclear talks. Traders were also weighing global energy demand prospects amid the continued surge in coronavirus cases in Asian countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.78 or 1.2 percent at $65.49 a barrel.
Thai Bourse Tipped To Remain Rangebound
2021-05-19 02:30:30