Thai Stock Market May Flirt With 1,300-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, improving more than 25 points or 2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,280-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with oil companies expected to lead the way - although profit-taking may creep in late in the day. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to at least open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index jumped 20.38 points or 1.62 percent to finish at 1,280.05 after trading between 1,269.69 and 1,287.47. Volume was 6.720 billion shares worth 45.727 billion baht. There were 252 gainers and 207 decliners, with 205 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info spiked 2.56 percent, while Thailand Airport climbed 2.83 percent, Asset World dropped 0.94 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 1.47 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.52 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 0.93 percent, BTS Group improved 1.75 percent, CP All Public shed 0.57 percent, Gulf lost 0.60 percent, Krung Thai Bank strengthened 1.77 percent, Krung Thai Card advanced 0.95 percent, PTT Oil & Retail expanded 1.50 percent, PTT sank 0.78 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slumped 0.88 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.48 percent, SCG Packaging tumbled 1.75 percent, Siam Commercial Bank vaulted 2.16 percent, Siam Concrete soared 3.54 percent, Thai Oil rallied 3.47 percent, True Corporation accelerated 3.67 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.98 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Kasikornbank, Banpu, B. Grimm and Energy Absolute were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow rallied 594.79 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 48,977.18, while the NASDAQ added 160.19 points or 0.69 percent to end at 23,395.82 and the S&P 500 gained 43.58 points or 0.64 percent to close at 6,902.05.

The jump by the Dow reflected a spike by shares of Chevron (CVX), with the energy giant soaring by 5.1 percent. Chevron, which is one of the leading private oil companies in Venezuela, surged following a U.S. attack on the country that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

The price of crude oil also shot up in reaction to the news, contributing to substantial strength among oil service stocks. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 5.5 percent amid optimism about potential gains from rebuilding Venezuela's oil infrastructure.

On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly decreased in December.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday after OPEC reaffirmed its plans to pause production increases for early 2026, thereby allaying oversupply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $58.31 or 0.99 percent at $1.73 per barrel.