Thai Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,535-point plateau although it figures to open under pressure on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on increasing concerns over the Republican-manufactured U.S. debt ceiling confrontation. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the food, industrial, financial and energy sectors were dented by weakness from the technology stocks.

For the day, the index picked up 5.60 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 1,534.84 after trading between 1,518.38 and 1,536.59.

Among the actives, Advanced Info gathered 0.47 percent, while Thailand Airport tumbled 2.08 percent, Asset World jumped 1.94 percent, Banpu improved 0.60 percent, Bangkok Bank advanced 0.94 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.60 percent, B. Grimm was up 0.67 percent, BTS Group skyrocketed 4.76 percent, CP All Public increased 0.40 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods soared 3.61 percent, Energy Absolute fell 0.38 percent, Gulf strengthened 0.52 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.13 percent, Krung Thai Bank spiked 3.21 percent, Krung Thai Card dropped 0.90 percent, PTT Oil & Retail perked 0.48 percent, PTT accelerated 0.80 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 1.02 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.67 percent, SCG Packaging gained 0.59 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.98 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.30 percent, Thai Oil was up 1.10 percent, True Corporation retreated 1.44 percent, TTB Bank surged 4.67 percent and Bangkok Dusit Medical was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent much of the day hugging the line before slumping in the afternoon.

The Dow tumbled 231.07 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 33,055.51, while the NASDAQ sank 160.53 points or 1.26 percent to end at 12,560.25 and the S&P 500 dropped 47.05 points or 1.12 percent to close at 4,145.58.

The markets continue to be weighed by the debt ceiling negotiations. U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said they held productive talks but there was no agreement on how to raise the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Composite PMI accelerated to its fastest pace in more than a year, while the Commerce Department said new home sales surprised much higher to the upside.

Crude oil futures advanced on speculation that OPEC might consider another production cut next month, and on a warning from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that oil prices will stop declining. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.86 or 1.2 percent at $72.91 a barrel.