Thai Stock Market Called Rangebound On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai Stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one day after ending the three-day slide in which it had slumped almost 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,480-point plateau although it's expected to tick higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourse were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the food and technology sectors were offset by support from the industrial and resource companies.

For the day, the index dipped 3.76 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,479.74 after trading between 1,477.05 and 1,488.68. Volume was 7.883 billion shares worth 59.498 billion baht. There were 243 decliners and 201 gainers, with 205 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.57 percent, while Asset World dropped 0.91 percent, Banpu advanced 0.93 percent, Bangkok Bank tanked 2.69 percent, B. Grimm slumped 0.81 percent, BTS Group surged 3.85 percent, CP All Public lost 0.54 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 1.51 percent, Energy Absolute soared 3.79 percent, Gulf contracted 0.85 percent, Kasikornbank spiked 3.00 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.83 percent, PTT Oil & Retail was down 0.82 percent, PTT vaulted 1.46 percent, PTT Exploration and Production improved 0.70 percent, PTT Global Chemical rallied 2.88 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.37 percent, Siam Concrete jumped 2.19 percent, Thai Oil climbed 1.12 percent, True Corporation declined 1.43 percent, TTB Bank tumbled 1.75 percent and Krung Thai Bank, SCG Packaging, Bangkok Dusit Medical, Thailand Airport and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained comfortably in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 340.65 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 49,490.03, while the NASDAQ rallied 397.60 points or 1.64 percent to end at a record 23,001.78 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.89 points or 1.05 percent to close at 7,137.90, also a record.

The rebound on Wall Street came in reaction to news that President Donald Trump has extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran, although it will continue to blockade all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.

Iran dismissed Trump's ceasefire extension as meaningless and said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted.

Crude oil prices soared Wednesday thanks to supply disruption concerns due to the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $3.54 or 3.95 percent at $93.21 per barrel.

Traders also continue to express optimism about the strength of corporate results, with earnings season off to a solid start.