Thai Shares Have Positive Lead For Wednesday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,395-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the technology and consumption stocks were offset by weakness from the food, service and energy sectors.

For the day, the index perked 1.49 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,394.90 after trading between 1,388.91 and 1,397.69. Volume was 10.919 billion shares worth 33.468 billion baht. There were 233 decliners and 210 gainers, with 199 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.46 percent, while Thailand Airport dropped 0.82 percent, Banpu retreated 1.54 percent, Bangkok Expressway rallied 1.26 percent, BTS Group sank 1.39 percent, CP All Public collected 0.46 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Krung Thai Card both skidded 1.08 percent, Energy Absolute stumbled 1.67 percent, Gulf slumped 1.09 percent, PTT Oil & Retail shed 0.50 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.63 percent, Siam Concrete gained 0.68 percent, Thai Oil improved 0.47 percent, True Corporation tumbled 1.94 percent and TTB Bank, Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, SCG Packaging, Asset World, B. Grimm, PTT, PTT Exploration and Production and Bangkok Dusit Medical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 251.90 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 37,557.92, while the NASDAQ advanced 98.03 points or 0.66 percent to close at 15,003.22 and the S&P 500 added 27.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 4,768.37.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to strength on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week.

Adding to the positive sentiment, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said interest rate cuts are likely to be appropriate next year because of an improvement in inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in November. Also, building permits slumped more than expected.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains on supply concerns after several companies rerouting their vessels due to the attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January rose $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.44 a barrel.