Thai Shares May See Further Upside On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, surging almost 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,455-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the food, finance, industrial, energy and technology sectors.

For the day, the index jumped 21.54 points or 1.50 percent to finish at 1,455.99 after trading between 1,434.45 and 1,456.73. Volume was 12.897 billion shares worth 53.321 billion baht. There were 443 gainers and 74 decliners, with 124 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport rose 0.36 percent, while Asset World jumped 2.21 percent, Banpu climbed 1.27 percent, Bangkok Bank advanced 0.90 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical accelerated 2.80 percent, Bangkok Expressway improved 1.88 percent, B. Grimm increased 0.97 percent, BTS Group surged 4.20 percent, CP All Public added 0.84 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rallied 2.69 percent, Energy Absolute improved 2.09 percent, Kasikornbank strengthened 1.58 percent, Krung Thai Bank improved 1.55 percent, Krung Thai Card spiked 2.19 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rallied 2.89 percent, PTT spiked 3.08 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rose 0.30 percent, PTT Global Chemical soared 3.01 percent, SCG Packaging improved 2.17 percent, Siam Commercial Bank jumped 1.97 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.33 percent, Thai Oil climbed 1.01 percent, True Corporation surged 3.65 percent, TTB Bank collected 1.19 percent and Advanced Info was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slipped into the red midday but rallied late to end in positive territory.

The Dow added 65.57 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 33,804.87, while the NASDAQ jumped 96.83 points or 0.71 percent to close at 13,659.68 and the S&P 500 gained 18.71 points or 0.43 percent to end at 4,376.95.

The higher close on Wall Street came amid a continued decline by treasury yields, with yields pulling back further off their highest levels in over 16 years. Treasuries have recently benefited from their appeal as a safe haven amid the deadly conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in September.

The Federal Reserve also released the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, reiterating that a majority of participants expect one more interest rate hike will likely be appropriate.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as Saudi Arabia's pledge to help stabilize the market outweighed concerns about supply disruptions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $83.49 a barrel, down $2.48 or 2.9 percent.