Thai Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, climbing more than 20 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,580-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with support from oil stocks likely to offset weakness from technology shares. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index improved 11.44 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 1,580.20 after trading between 1,575.29 and 1,584.05. Volume was 18.800 billion shares worth 59.201 billion baht. There were 985 gainers and 696 decliners, with 524 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport advanced 0.72 percent, while Asset World rose 0.41 percent, Banpu rallied 2.46 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical shed 0.40 percent, Bangkok Expressway declined 1.14 percent, B. Grimm improved 0.68 percent, BTS Group climbed 1.18 percent, CP All Public accelerated 2.10 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods and PTT Oil & Retail both increased 0.96 percent, Energy Absolute gained 0.90 percent, Gulf gathered 1.06 percent, IRPC spiked 2.53 percent, Kasikornbank strengthened 1.35 percent, Krung Thai Bank lost 0.65 percent, Krung Thai Card perked 1.29 percent, PTT soared 2.26 percent, PTT Exploration and Production added 1.95 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 2.23 percent, SCG Packaging advanced 2.27 percent, Siam Concrete was up 0.53 percent, Thai Oil spiked 2.51 percent, TTB Bank collected 0.81 percent and Advanced Info, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and True Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages quickly headed south on Monday, rebounded midday and then turned modestly lower again into the close.

The Dow sank 62.42 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 31,438.26, while the NASDAQ shed 83.07 points or 0.72 percent to end at 11,524.55 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.63 points or 0.30 percent to close at 3,900.11.

The volatility came as investors stayed cautious, reassessing the expected path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes amid falling inflation expectations.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods increased more than expected in May. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted an unexpected rebound in pending home sales in May.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday, extending gains from the previous session amid slightly easing worries about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.95 or 1.8 percent at $109.57 a barrel.