Thai Shares Have Positive Lead For Friday's Trade

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market rebounded on Thursday, one day after ending the four-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 20 points or 1.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,450-point plateau and it's likely to open higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for the outlook for both the economy and for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion - although there may be profit taking as the day progresses.

The SET finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the food, industrial, property, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index jumped 19.07 points or 1.33 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,454.84 after trading as low as 1,436.14. Volume was 12.997 billion shares worth 67.697 billion baht. There were 382 gainers and 123 decliners, with 162 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.77 percent, while Thailand Airport fell 0.39 percent, Asset World accelerated 3.72 percent, Banpu sank 0.76 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical and Siam Concrete both increased 0.84 percent, B. Grimm jumped 2.18 percent, BTS Group was up 0.85 percent, CP All Public climbed 1.57 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods improved 0.83 percent, Energy Absolute plummeted 5.29 percent, Gulf spiked 2.70 percent, Krung Thai Bank dropped 0.97 percent, Krung Thai Card strengthened 1.61 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rallied 2.96 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.73 percent, PTT Global Chemical advanced 0.89 percent, SCG Packaging surged 5.56 percent, Siam Commercial Bank retreated 1.33 percent, Thai Oil lost 0.50 percent, True Corporation soared 4.63 percent, TTB Bank skidded 1.04 percent and Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, PTT and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened solidly higher and remained firmly in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 522.09 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 42,025.19, while the NASDAQ rallied 440.68 points or 2.51 percent to end at 18,013.98 and the S&P 500 advanced 95.38 points or 1.70 percent to close at 5,713.64.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to slash interest rates by half of a percentage point.

Fed officials also forecast continued rate cuts over the coming months and into next year, generating optimism the central bank will be able to engineer a soft landing for the economy.

Adding to the optimism about the economy, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a nearly four-month low last week.

Oil prices moved higher on Thursday with rising tensions in the Middle East raising possibility of disruptions in supply. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $1.04 or 1.5 percent at $71.55 a barrel.