Thai Stock Market May Challenge 1,300-Point Mark

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had tumbled almost 50 points or 3.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,285-point plateau and it's expected to see a steady start again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amid rising tensions between the world's two largest economies. The European markets were mostly lower and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index jumped 20.31 points or 1.60 percent to finish at 1,286.69 after trading between 1,274.21 and 1,289.09. Volume was 8.320 billion shares worth 46.484 billion baht. There were 313 gainers and 155 decliners, with 180 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info gained 0.68 percent, while Thailand Airport jumped 2.52 percent, Asset World advanced 0.96 percent, Banpu slumped 1.37 percent, Bangkok Bank soared 3.33 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical lost 0.50 percent, Bangkok Expressway was up 0.99 percent, B. Grimm rallied 2.70 percent, BTS Group sank 0.70 percent, CP All Public expanded 1.07 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods shed 0.45 percent, Energy Absolute surged 4.27 percent, Gulf improved 1.14 percent, Kasikornbank collected 2.40 percent, Krung Thai Bank accelerated 2.88 percent, Krung Thai Card strengthened 1.67 percent, PTT Oil & Retail skyrocketed 5.38 percent, PTT increased 0.81 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gathered 0.47 percent, Siam Commercial Bank climbed 1.17 percent, Siam Concrete tumbled 1.94 percent, Thai Oil spiked 3.70 percent, TTB Bank added 0.55 percent and PTT Global Chemical, SCG Packaging and True Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday but slumped midday and finished mixed.

The Dow dipped 17.15 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 46,253.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 148.38 points or 0.66 percent to end at 22,670.08 and the S&P 500 added 26.75 points or 0.40 percent to close at 6,671.06.

The continued volatility on Wall Street came as traders weighed upbeat earnings news against concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions and lingering worries about valuations.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said New York manufacturing activity has seen a significant turnaround in October. Also, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book said economic activity in the U.S. has shown little change since early September.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday following the rapid escalation of friction between the U.S. and China, while oversupply concerns also loom. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $0.33 or 0.56 percent at $58.37 per barrel.