Thai Stock Market Tipped To Erase Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had added almost 10 points or 0.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,365-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly lower following losses from the consumer, financial, industrial and resource sectors, while the technology stocks were up on bargain hunting.

For the day, the index fell 4.70 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 1,363.25 after trading between 1,362.84 and 1,372.01. Volume was 15.792 billion shares worth 48.921 billion baht. There were 318 decliners and 169 gainers, with 171 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 4.81 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.38 percent, Asset World declined 1.36 percent, Banpu tumbled 1.80 percent, Bangkok Bank sank 0.73 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical lost 0.86 percent, Bangkok Expressway and Krung Thai Bank both shed 0.60 percent, BTS Group was down 0.79 percent, CP All Public spiked 2.17 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods surged 3.54 percent, Energy Absolute slumped 1.63 percent, Gulf jumped 1.86 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.38 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.58 percent, PTT Oil & Retail skidded 1.07 percent, PTT stumbled 1.48 percent, PTT Exploration and Production plummeted 3.83 percent, PTT Global Chemical surrendered 2.72 percent, SCG Packaging retreated 1.54 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 0.80 percent, Thai Oil tanked 2.29 percent, True Corporation soared 4.55 percent, TTB Bank plunged 2.76 percent and B. Grimm was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 322.37 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 38,225.66, while the NASDAQ rallied 235.48 points or 1.51 percent to close at 15,840.96 and the S&P 500 advanced 45.81 points or 0.91 percent to end at 5,064.20.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders breathed a sigh of relief following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Traders had expressed some concerns the Fed's next monetary policy move could actually be an interest rate hike rather than a cut, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell post-meeting alleviated those worries.

Earlier in the day, stocks saw volatility as traders reacted to the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing a surge by labor costs in the first quarter of 2024. A separate Labor Department showed initial jobless claims came in unchanged last week, while a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in March.

Oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled slightly lower on Thursday amid easing concerns over supply disruptions and worries about the outlook for economic growth and energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down by $0.05 at $78.95 a barrel.