Little Movement Predicted For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,430-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors try to balance upbeat economic data against its consequences for interest rates. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the food, resource, technology and industrial stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index shed 6.63 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 1,427.96 after trading between 1,425.40 and 1,438.10. Volume was 15.522 billion shares worth 51.149 billion baht. There were 251 gainers and 243 decliners, with 153 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tanked 2.28 percent, while Thailand Airport lost 0.78 percent, Asset World soared 2.48 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.65 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.92 percent, Bangkok Expressway retreated 1.23 percent, B. Grimm plummeted 4.42 percent, BTS Group slumped 2.01 percent, CP All Public declined 0.89 percent, Energy Absolute surrendered 2.70 percent, Gulf skidded 1.10 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.12 percent, Krung Thai Bank jumped 1.63 percent, PTT Oil & Retail dropped 1.02 percent, PTT sank 0.70 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 1.00 percent, PTT Global Chemical shed 0.67 percent, SCG Packaging plunged 2.76 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.95 percent, Siam Concrete lost 0.67 percent, Thai Oil improved 0.94 percent, TTB Bank added 0.60 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Krung Thai Card, True Corporation and Banpu were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages saw considerable volatility on Friday before ending with slight gains.

The Dow added 25.81 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,466.11, while the NASDAQ rose 13.77 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,524.07 and the S&P 500 perked 8.56 points or 0.18 percent to end at 4,697.24.

For the week, the major averages were down for the first time in 10 weeks as the NASDAQ plunged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.5 percent and the Dow slid 0.6 percent.

The volatility came as traders reacted to key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December.

While the data initially raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November.

Crude oil showed a strong move to the upside on Friday, reflected ongoing fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery surged $1.62 or 2.2 percent to $73.81 a barrel.