Thai Stock Market Due For Continued Support On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the five-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 25 points or 1.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,665-point plateau and it's likely to open higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished barely higher on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers. For the day, the index rose 0.32 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 1,664.89 after trading between 1,658.43 and 1,669.98. Volume was 15.000 billion shares worth 52.934 billion baht. There were 987 decliners and 541 gainers, with 505 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info jumped 1.94 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.34 percent, Banpu strengthened 1.83 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.52 percent, B. Grimm spiked 1.88 percent, Energy Absolute dropped 0.85 percent, Gulf rallied 1.40 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.35 percent, Krung Thai Card soared 2.82 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.46 percent, PTT sank 0.77 percent, PTT Exploration and Production advanced 0.92 percent, SCG Packaging retreated 1.44 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.50 percent, Thai Oil accelerated 2.22 percent, TTB Bank improved 0.71 percent and Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical, Charoen Pokphand Foods, PTT Global Chemical, Krung Thai Bank, CP All Public and BTS Group were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs. The Dow jumped 376.66 points or 1.11 percent to finish at 34,245.93, while the NASDAQ spiked 173.67 points or 1.48 percent and the S&P 500 rallied 46.83 points or 1.14 percent to end at 4,137.29.

The strength on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after last week's weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

Trading remained subdued, however, as traders look ahead to Tuesday's closely watched report on consumer price inflation. The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates amid recent speculation the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than anticipated.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday afternoon, unable to held early gains. West Texas Intermediate was down $0.43 or 0.54 percent to $79.29 per barrel, coming off a high of $80.62 earlier in the day.