Thai Stock Market May Test Resistance At 1,600 Points On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 40 points or 2.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,575-point plateau and it's expected to see additional support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with oil, telecom and technology stocks expected to lead the way. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index advanced 8.37 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 1,574.52 after trading between 1,563.14 and 1,576.05. Volume was 18.166 billion shares worth 54.668 billion baht. There were 1,005 gainers and 650 decliners, with 505 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.99 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.72 percent, Banpu jumped 2.40 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.74 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical improved 1.64 percent, Bangkok Expressway picked up 1.13 percent, CP All Public shed 0.41 percent, Energy Absolute perked 0.60 percent, Gulf gained 1.60 percent, IRPC accelerated 1.28 percent, Kasikornbank increased 0.67 percent, Krung Thai Bank climbed 1.30 percent, PTT Oil & Retail surged 1.94 percent, PTT strengthened 1.50 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rallied 2.84 percent, PTT Global Chemical was up 1.70 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gathered 1.94 percent, Thai Oil soared 3.03 percent, True Corporation spiked 2.59 percent, TTB Bank rose 0.80 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Krung Thai Card, B. Grimm and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained solidly in the green throughout the day, closing near session highs.

The Dow surged 641.47 points or 2.15 percent to finish at 30,530.25, while the NASDAQ spiked 270.95 points or 2.51 percent to end at 11,069.30 and the S&P 500 jumped 89.95 points or 2.45 percent to close at 3,764.79.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness in the markets. Bargain hunting also contributed to strength in the overseas markets that carried over onto Wall Street early in the day.

In economic news, the National Association of Realtors noted another steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in May.

Crude oil prices bounced higher again Tuesday, recovering from the selloff in the previous session that was fueled by recession concerns. West Texas intermediate for August delivery jumped $1.53 or 1.4 percent to $109.52 a barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will release May numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 16.75 percent on year, slowing from 21.5 percent in April. Exports are called higher by an annual 6.7 percent, down from 9.9 percent in the previous month. The trade deficit is pegged at $1.3 billion following the $1.91 billion shortfall a month earlier.