Thai Shares Expected To Remain Rangebound On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed almost 20 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,315-point plateau and it's likely to open under water again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on waning optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the industrial, resource and technology shares were offset by weakness from the service and finance companies.

For the day, the index improved 9.07 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 1,313.99 after trading between 1m309.01 and 1,317.88. Volume was 8.653 billion shares worth 43.145 billion baht. There were 219 decliners and 188 gainers, with 240 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info jumped 2.05 percent, while Thailand Airport spiked 1.78 percent, Banpu increased 0.88 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.66 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical rose 0.50 percent, Bangkok Expressway soared 2.94 percent, B. Grimm skyrocketed 9.15 percent, CP All Public added 0.52 percent, Energy Absolute strengthened 1.89 percent, Gulf surged 3.43 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.60 percent, Krung Thai Bank sank 0.80 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.80 percent, PTT Oil & Retail slumped 0.74 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slid 0.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical dropped 0.99 percent, SCG Packaging rallied 2.78 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.39 percent, Siam Concrete tanked 2,29 percent, Thai Oil gained 0.72 percent, True Corporation advanced 0.92 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Asset World, PTT and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened flat but quickly turned lower and spent the balance of the day in the red.

The Dow dropped 243.36 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 46,358.42, while the NASDAQ slipped 18.75 points or 0.08 percent to close at 23,023.62 and the S&P 500 sank 18.61 points or 0.28 percent to end at 6,735.11.

The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which came amid persistent optimism about the artificial intelligence trade.

Investors may also have begun to express concerns about the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which entered its ninth day with no end in sight.

Traders also kept an eye on remarks by several Federal Reserve officials, with Fed Governor Michael Barr said the central bank should move "cautiously" due to considerable uncertainty about the future course of the economy.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday due to the possible easing of hostilities in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $1.10 or 1.76 percent at $61.45 per barrel.