Thai Stock Market May Crack 1,600-Point Barrier

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Wednesday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 40 points or 2.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,595-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing fears of a worldwide economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the energy producers were offset by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 5.57 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 1,594.73 after trading between 1,586.49 and 1,597.74. Volume was 16.144 billion shares worth 50.898 billion baht. There were 959 decliners and 606 gainers, with 580 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Airport of Thailand rose 0.35 percent, while Asset World tumbled 1.96 percent, Banpu strengthened 1.53 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.38 percent, Bangkok Medical soared 2.78 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.57 percent, B. Grimm climbed 1.28 percent, BTS Group declined 1.72 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.99 percent, Gulf advanced 1.05 percent, IRPC improved 1.20 percent, Krung Thai Bank lost 0.63 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.57 percent, PTT Global Chemical gained 0.55 percent, Siam Concrete dipped 0.27 percent, Thai Oil rallied 1.46 percent, True Corporation sank 0.41 percent and TTB, Advanced Info, CP All Public, Energy Absolute, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Card, PTT Oil & Resource, PTT and Siam Commercial Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly in the green and accelerated as the session progressed.

The Dow surged 416.33 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 32,812.50, while the NASDAQ spiked 319.40 points or 2.59 percent to end at 12,668.16 and the S&P 500 sank 63.98 points or 1.56 percent to close at 4,155.17.

The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to some upbeat U.S. economic data, which helped ease concerns about a recession.

The Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. services sector activity in July. Also, the Commerce Department saw a sharp increase in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in June.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Wednesday after data showed an unexpected surge in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's strength after hawkish comments from a few Fed officials also weighed on oil prices.

Also, OPEC+ agreed to a tiny increase in output next month amid fears that a global recession will crimp demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for September sank $3.76 or 4 percent at $90.66 a barrel.