Thai Stock Market Draws Flat Lead

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Monday, one session after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it's likely to be rangebound on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside with earnings optimism offset by interest rate jitters. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the service stocks and mixed performances from the financials and resource shares.

For the day, the index added 7.74 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 1,600.41 after trading between 1,587.87 and 1,604.21. Volume was 13.466 billion shares worth 46.730 billion baht. There were 736 gainers and 633 decliners, with 533 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info improved 0.95 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.34 percent, Banpu retreated 1.51 percent, Bangkok Bank strengthened 1.27 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical soared 2.54 percent, Bangkok Expressway gained 0.56 percent, BTS Group spiked 1.97 percent, CP All Public climbed 1.21 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.48 percent, Energy Absolute jumped 1.30 percent, Gulf added 0.46 percent, Kasikornbank tumbled 1.84 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.58 percent, Krung Thai Card advanced 0.88 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rallied 1.87 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.31 percent, PTT Global Chemical lost 0.57 percent, SCG Packaging tanked 2.23 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plummeted 3.79 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.32 percent, Thai Oil dropped 0.95 percent and True Corporation, TTB Bank, Asset World, B. Grimm and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday, slipped into the red midday but bounced back into positive territory heading into the close.

The Dow climbed 100.71 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 33,987.18, while the NASDAQ added 34.26 points or 0.28 percent to close at 12,157.72 and the S&P 500 rose 13.68 points or 0.33 percent to end at 4,151.32.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates seemed to spook investors after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said that he wants to see more evidence of inflation settling back to target before calling interest rate hikes finished.

But he added that he feels reassured by what he is seeing in the banking sector in terms of stability after a couple of solvency issues by individual banks last month.

In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the U.S. increased to 45 in April, rising for a fourth month in a row.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand, while uncertainty about interest rate hikes and the dollar's rise against other currencies also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May sank $1.69 or 2.1 percent at $80.83 a barrel.