Thai Stock Market May Bounce Higher Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had rallied more than 50 points or 4.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,160-point plateau although it may find renewed support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing inflation concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, consumer, property, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index slipped 3.38 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,157.63 after trading between 1,154.13 and 1,167.80. Volume was 11.282 billion shares worth 42.928 billion baht. There were 272 decliners and 176 gainers, with 202 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.69 percent, while Thailand Airport soared 1,40 percent, Asset World dropped 0.98 percent, Banpu fell 0.46 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.70 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.96 percent, B. Grimm and True Corporation both slumped 0.88 percent, BTS Group declined 1.69 percent, CP All Public gained 0.54 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods stumbled 2.65 percent, Energy Absolute rallied 1.61 percent, Gulf lost 0.58 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.32 percent, Krung Thai Card surrendered 1.83 percent, PTT Oil & Retail jumped 1.69 percent, PTT retreated 0.80 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.47 percent, SCG Packaging skidded 1.17 percent, Siam Commercial Bank shed 0.42 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.28 percent, Thai Oil declined 1.69 percent and TTB Bank, Krung Thai Bank, PTT Exploration and Production and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, dipped midday but then bounced higher heading into the close.

The Dow jumped 231.49 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 44,254.78, while the NASDAQ added 52.69 points or 0.25 percent to close at a fresh record high of 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,263.70.

Stocks came under pressure in late morning trade following reports President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a meeting with House Republicans.

However, the major averages moved back to the upside after Trump said he's "not planning" on firing Powell.

The choppy trading on Wall Street also followed a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in June. While the data helped ease inflation concerns, the Fed is still seen as likely to leave interest rates unchanged until September at the earliest.

Crude oil prices dropped for the third straight day on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell $0.14 to settle at $65.38 per barrel.