Rally May Stall For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, advancing almost 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,560-point plateau although it may open under water on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on continuing tensions in the Middle East and weak economic data. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed to lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the finance, property, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index added 10.33 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 1,558.55 after trading between 1,554.51 and 1,567.47. Volume was 11.637 billion shares worth 85.992 billion baht. There were 220 gainers and 214 decliners, with 224 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport increased 1.23 percent, while Asset World soared 4.58 percent, Banpu dropped 0.95 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.57 percent, Bangkok Expressway rallied 2.52 percent, B. Grimm strengthened 1.17 percent, CP All Public tanked 1.64 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods climbed 1.04 percent, Energy Absolute cratered 6.58 percent, Gulf stumbled 1.63 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.92 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.69 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.78 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.82 percent, PTT declined 1.43 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slumped 1.15 percent, PTT Global Chemical retreated 1.56 percent, SCG Packaging tumbled 1.79 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rose 0.35 percent, Thai Oil added 0.56 percent, True Corporation plummeted 6.72 percent and TTB Bank, Siam Concrete, Advanced Info, Bangkok Dusit Medical and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but spent most of the day bouncing back and forth across the line, finally ending mixed.

The Dow added 71.72 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 51,920.62, while the NASDAQ slumped 118.03 points or 0.46 percent to end at 25,358.60 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.73 points or 0.01 percent to close at 7,357.49.

The aimless trade came as investors digested a slew of economic data and some corporate news, including earnings update from Micron Technology - which rallied on stronger-than-expected earnings and an upward revision in revenue forecast.

In economic news, the Labor Department showed the core PCE price index - which is the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of underlying inflation - moved further above the Federal Reserve's percent target. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders dropped more than expected, while jobless claims were down from a week earlier and GDP slowed in the first quarter.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in the Middle East as tensions along the Strait of Hormuz persist.

Crude oil prices jumped on Thursday as supply disruption threats reappeared after a projectile hit a cargo ship near Oman across the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.49 or 2.12 percent at $71.83 per barrel.