Thai Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing almost 15 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,170-point plateau, although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his plan to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the former lead.

The SET finished modestly higher again on Wednesday following gains from the food, finance, industrial and service sectors.

For the day, the index added 4.67 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 1,172.69 after trading between 1,166.59 and 1,176.84. Volume was 6.207 billion shares worth 24.969 billion baht. There were 245 gainers and 217 decliners, with 196 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info slumped 1.42 percent, while Thailand Airport strengthened 1.95 percent, Asset World stumbled 1.61 percent, Banpu soared 2.88 percent, Bangkok Bank perked 0.34 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical accelerated 1.81 percent, Bangkok Expressway gained 0.93 percent, B. Grimm dropped 0.98 percent, CP All Public rallied 1.50 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rose 0.42 percent, Energy Absolute spiked 1.94 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.31 percent, Krung Thai Bank added 0.41 percent, Krung Thai Card jumped 1.63 percent, PTT Oil & Retail surged 3.36 percent, PTT improved 0.78 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surrendered 2.48 percent, PTT Global Chemical shed 0.58 percent, Siam Commercial Bank increased 0.40 percent, Siam Concrete plunged 2.93 percent, True Corporation tumbled 1.65 percent, TTB Bank climbed 1.02 percent and SCG Packaging, Gulf, Thai Oil and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off a soft open on Wednesday and tracked generally higher throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 235.36 points or 0.56 percent to finish at 42,225.32, while the NASDAQ advanced 151.16 points or 0.87 percent to close at 17,601.05 and the S&P 500 improved 37.90 points or 0.67 percent to end at 5,670.97.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about the impact of Trump's reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners.

However, traders then saw the early slump as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels, leading to the subsequent rebound.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in March. Also, the Commerce Department said factory orders increased more than anticipated in February.

Crude oil prices ticked higher again on Wednesday, despite data showing an unexpected increase by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $0.51 or 0.7 percent to $71.71 a barrel.