Thai Stock Market May Extend Tuesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had slumped almost 25 points or 1.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,430-point plateau and it's expected to open higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside ahead of the U.S. monetary policy announcement later today. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index rallied 28.86 points or 2.05 percent to finish at 1,433.88 after trading between 1,418.68 and 1,441.97. Volume was 10.501 billion shares worth 71.255 billion baht. There were 324 gainers and 145 decliners, with 188 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info vaulted 2.43 percent, while Thailand Airport rallied 2.59 percent, Asset World added 0.98 percent, Banpu rose 0.85 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.61 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical was up 0.53 percent, Bangkok Expressway perked 0.96 percent, B. Grimm advanced 3.54 percent, BTS Group extended 1.96 percent, CP All Public shed 0.54 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods soared 5.35 percent, Energy Absolute improved 1.54 percent, Gulf gathered 1.35 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.89 percent, Krung Thai Bank strengthened 1.47 percent, Krung Thai Card expanded 2.59 percent, PTT Oil & Retail elevated 5.41 percent, PTT gained 1.49 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 2.41 percent, PTT Global Chemical skyrocketed 7.83 percent, SCG Packaging surged 6.94 percent, Siam Commercial Bank climbed 1.05 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 4.86 percent, Thai Oil was up 1.08 percent, True Corporation accelerated 4.48 percent and TTB Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the day, although off session highs.

The Dow added 46.85 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 46,993.26, while the NASDAQ climbed 105.35 points or 0.47 percent to end at 22,479.53 and the S&P 500 added 16.71 points or 0.25 percent to close at 6,716.09.

The early strength on Wall Street came as traders attempted to shrug off the recent volatility shown by the price of crude oil, which has been a key driver of trading in recent sessions.

Crude oil prices surged Tuesday as Iran stepped up its attack on energy infrastructure in the Middle East in its war against the U.S. and Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $2.57 or 2.75 percent at $96.07 per barrel.

The Israeli military also said it had begun a "wide-scale wave of strikes" across Iran's capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Traders were also reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to central bank officials' latest projections.