Thai Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market moved emphatically higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 50 points or 4.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,200-point plateau although it may see a downward correction on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with oil, technology and financial shares likely to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the food, consumer, finance, industrial, property, resource, service and technology sectors.

For the day, the index rallied 40.48 points or 3.50 percent to finish at 1,198.11 after trading between 1,162.70 and 1,199.14. Volume was 12.054 billion shares worth 63.374 billion baht. There were 387 gainers and 112 decliners, with 150 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 1.04 percent, while Thailand Airport skyrocketed 11.03 percent, Asset World soared 3.96 percent, Banpu strengthened 2.76 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.70 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 1.90 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 1.71 percent, B. Grimm rallied 3.57 percent, BTS Group increased 1.71 percent, CP All Public rose 0.54 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods spiked 3.18 percent, Energy Absolute skyrocketed 8.73 percent, Gulf surged 5.26 percent, Kasikornbank added 0.64 percent, Krung Thai Card rallied 3.74 percent, PTT Oil & Retail spiked 4.17 percent, PTT advanced 1.61 percent, PTT Exploration and Production improved 2.26 percent, PTT Global Chemical soared 3.26 percent, SCG Packaging surged 5.33 percent, Siam Commercial Bank rose 0.43 percent, Siam Concrete accelerated 5.85 percent, Thai Oil jumped 5.17 percent, True Corporation tumbled 1.79 percent, TTB Bank gained 0.53 percent and Krung Thai Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened solidly in the green on Thursday and extended their gains throughout the day.

The Dow jumped 229.71 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 44,484.49, while the NASDAQ rallied 155.16 points or 0.75 percent to close at a record 20,855.65 and the S&P 500 gained 33.66 points or 0.54 percent to end at 6,297.36, also a record.

The continued strength on Wall Street followed the release of a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in the month of June.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a three-month low last month, while import prices in the U.S. inched up less than expected in June.

Crude oil prices increased on Thursday as fresh tension brewing in the Middle East generated demand, while a drop in U.S. inventories was seen as reflecting robust summer demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery surged $1.16 to settle at $67.54 per barrel.