Thai Shares Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with tech shares expected to weigh heavily. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the energy companies and a mixed picture from the financials.

For the day, the index added 5.87 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,602.33 after trading between 1,592.49 and 1,605.76. Volume was 20.872 billion shares worth 64.424 billion baht. There were 986 gainers and 657 decliners, with 608 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info perked 0.27 percent, while Asset World and CP All Public both gained 0.84 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.35 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.85 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.54 percent, B. Grimm soared 3.85 percent, BTS Group increased 0.61 percent, Energy Absolute strengthened 1.56 percent, Gulf was up 0.49 percent, IRPC jumped 1.96 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.06 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.57 percent, Krung Thai Card rose 1.33 percent, PTT Oil & Retail plunged 2.43 percent, PTT advanced 1.43 percent, PTT Exploration and Production improved 1.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical climbed 1.19 percent, SCG Packaging gained 0.96 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 0.92 percent, Thai Oil rallied 2.42 percent, True Corporation spiked 2.07 percent, TTB Bank retreated 1.45 percent and Thailand Airport, Banpu and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday. The NASDAQ remained lower throughout the session, while the Dow was higher the whole day and the S&P bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing in the red.

The Dow jumped 194.17 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 32,033.28, while the NASDAQ tumbled 178.32 points or 1.63 percent to end at 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.61 percent to close at 3,807.30.

The continued upward move by the Dow reflected positive reaction to earnings news from the likes of Caterpillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), McDonald's (MCD) and Merck (MRK).

The index also benefited from a positive reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing U.S. economic activity rebounded by slightly more than expected in the third quarter following two straight quarters of contraction.

Meanwhile, a steep drop by Meta Platforms (META) weighed on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, with the Facebook parent plunging by 24.5 percent after the company reported weaker than expected Q3 earnings and disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, extending gains from the previous session amid optimism about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were up $1.17 or 1.3 percent at $89.08 a barrel.