Additional Upside Anticipated For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Monday halted the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,440-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, supported by strength from the technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial, property, resource, service and technology sectors. For the day, the index gained 9.57 points or 0.67 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,437.11 after trading as low as 1,421.18. Volume was 10.020 billion shares worth 35.274 billion baht. There were 257 decliners and 219 gainers, with 182 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info rose 0.35 percent, while Thailand Airport strengthened 1.65 percent, Asset World soared 2.25 percent, Banpu jumped 1.75 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 1.37 percent, B. Grimm gained 0.48 percent, CP All Public accelerated 1.63 percent, Energy Absolute plummeted 7.57 percent, Gulf rallied 1.24 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.66 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slumped 1.18 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.87 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 0.82 percent, Thai Oil lost 0.66 percent, True Corporation surged 4.50 percent, TTB Bank added 0.57 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Krung Thai Card, PTT Global Chemical, SCG Packaging, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Bangkok Dusit Medical and BTS Group were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened mixed and finished the same way.

The Dow slumped 128.65 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 4,4782.00, while the NASDAQ rallied 185.78 points or 0.97 percent to close at a record 19,403.95 and the S&P 500 added 14.77 points or 0.24 percent to end at 6,047.15.

Investors were cautious ahead of a slew of crucial economic data later this week, including reports on private sector and non-farm payroll employment, service sector activity and a reading on consumer sentiment.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said construction spending increased more than expected in October. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. manufacturing increased by more than expected in November but continued to indicate a contraction.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday on possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions on the geopolitical front although the upside was marginal as investors look to Thursday's OPEC meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up by $0.10 or 0.15 percent at $68.10 a barrel.