Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, gathering more than 25 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,470-point plateau although the rally may stall on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on ebbing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

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

For the day, the index gained 11.55 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 1,468.52 after trading between 1,458.59 and 1,474.51. Volume was 11.187 billion shares worth 50.447 billion baht. There were 235 gainers and 220 decliners, with 202 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info and Banpu both improved 0.74 percent, while Thailand Airport rallied 0.78 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.32 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical sank 0.83 percent, B. Grimm jumped 1.72 percent, BTS Group was up 0.44 percent, CP All Public gained 0.76 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods accelerated 2.23 percent, Energy Absolute slumped 1.12 percent, Gulf strengthened 1.62 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.33 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.48 percent, Krung Thai Card added 0.52 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 0.75 percent, SCG Packaging tumbled 1.77 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 0.83 percent, Thai Oil declined 0.99 percent, True Corporation soared 2.68 percent, TTB Bank skidded 1.06 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, PTT Global Chemical, Asset World, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation as the major averages opened slightly under water on Thursday and pretty much stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow shed 57.88 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 42,454.12, while the NASDAQ dipped 9.57 points or 0.05 percent to close at 18,282.05 and the S&P 500 sank 11.99 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,780.05.

The modest weakness on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The bigger than expected increase by consumer prices further offset optimism that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively lower interest rates in the coming months.

Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a separate Labor Department report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits increased by much more than expected last week.

Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday as worries about escalating tensions in the Middle East outweighed uncertainty about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.61 or about 3.56 percent at $75.85 a barrel.