Thai Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 50 points or 4.3 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,205-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished sharply lower on Thursday following losses from the food, finance, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index slumped 13.68 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 1,206.59 after trading between 1,205.57 and 1,221.34. Volume was 8.588 billion shares worth 42.698 billion baht. There were 315 decliners and 193 gainers, with 158 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.33 percent, while Thailand Airport gave up 1.91 percent, Asset World crashed 7.27 percent, Banpu surged 3.98 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical contracted 2.02 percent, Bangkok Expressway dipped 0.83 percent, B. Grimm rallied 2.56 percent, BTS Group was down 2.01 percent, CP All Public advanced 0.96 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.95 percent, Energy Absolute stumbled 2.27 percent, Gulf declined 1.50 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.30 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 1.32 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.54 percent, PTT Oil & Retail slumped 1.36 percent, PTT weakened 1.59 percent, PTT Exploration and Production skidded 1.00 percent, PTT Global Chemical tanked 2.17 percent, SCG Packaging tumbled 1.94 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.42 percent, Siam Concrete surrendered 2.33 percent, Thai Oil plunged 2.78 percent, True Corporation sank 0.79 percent, TTB Bank shed 0.53 percent and Bangkok Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 254.48 points or 0.62 percent to finish at 41,368.45, while the NASDAQ rallied 189.98 points or 1.07 percent to close at 17,928.14 and the S&P 500 gained 32.66 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,663.94.

The strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump unveiled the framework of a trade agreement with the U.K.

Trump claimed the deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, and will see the U.K. reduce or eliminate numerous non-tariff barriers.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decline last week. Also, the Labor Department noted a pullback by U.S. labor productivity in the first quarter of 2025 along with a sharp increase by unit labor costs.

Crude oil futures rallied on Thursday following news of the trade agreement between the United States and Great Britain. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery surged $1.84 or 3.2 percent to $59.91 a barrel.