Thai Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - Ahead of Monday's holiday for King Maha's birthday, the Thai stock market had 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 spiked more than 50 points or 4.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,215-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of weakness ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the food, industrial, services and technology sectors.

For the day, the index added 4.66 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 1,217.15 after trading between 1,204.70 and 1,218.71. Volume was 8.421 billion shares worth 36.910 billion baht. There were 219 decliners and 215 gainers, with 206 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info slipped 0.34 percent, while Thailand Airport skyrocketed 7.69 percent, Asset World soared 1.94 percent, Banpu added 0.43 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.34 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical was down 0.47 percent, Bangkok Expressway cratered 2.73 percent, BTS Group plummeted 2.26 percent, CP All Public and TTB Bank both lost 0.53 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rallied 2.19 percent, Energy Absolute contracted 0.70 percent, Gulf gained 0.54 percent, Kasikornbank dropped 0.93 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.46 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.89 percent, PTT increased 0.78 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.89 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 0.56 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.40 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 2.30 percent, Thai Oil retreated 1.52 percent, True Corporation tumbled 1.82 percent and B. Grimm, PTT Oil & Retail and PTT Exploration and Production were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and finished little changed and on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow slumped 64.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 44,837.56, while the NASDAQ gained 70.27 points or 0.33 percent to close at a record high 21,178.58 and the S&P perked 1.13 points or 0.02 percent to end at 6,389.77, also a record.

The modest strength on Wall Street followed news the U.S. and the European Union struck a last-minute trade agreement and reports suggest the U.S. and China are likely to extend their tariff truce for another 90 days.

However, buying interest was subdued ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later this week. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.

The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus in the coming days along with earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).

Crude oil price surged on Monday after the US announced a tariff framework agreement with the EU, cooling fears of a big tariff war. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery jumped $1.72 or 2.64 percent to $66.88 per barrel.