Thai Stock Market Tipped To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, slumping more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,620-point plateau although it's due for support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on encouraging inflation data and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The SET finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the energy companies were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 3.22 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 1,619.23 after trading between 1,611.17 and 1,623.97. Volume was 18.476 billion shares worth 59.804 billion baht. There were 1,023 decliners and 593 gainers, with 586 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info sank 0.80 percent, while Asset World rallied 2.56 percent, Banpu improved 0.79 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical spiked 2.46 percent, B. Grimm shed 0.71 percent, BTS Group added 0.60 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 0.99 percent, Energy Absolute perked 0.26 percent, Gulf dropped 0.98 percent, IRPC lost 0.65 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.34 percent, KCE Electronics gained 0.56 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 1.67 percent, PTT tumbled 2.14 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surrendered 1.81 percent, PTT Global Chemical slumped 1.06 percent, SCG Packaging rose 0.45 percent, Siam Commercial Bank improved 0.47 percent, Thai Oil plunged 3.54 percent, True Corporation fell 0.41 percent and TTB Bank, Thailand Airport, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Expressway, CP All Public, Krung Thai Card, PTT Oil & Retail and Siam Concrete were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages saw their best performance in two years, opening sharply higher Thursday and continuing to accelerate as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow skyrocketed 1,201.43 points or 3.70 percent to finish at 33,715.37, while the NASDAQ exploded for 760.97 points or 7.35 percent to close at 11,114.15 and the S&P 500 surged 207.80 points or 5.54 percent to end at 3,956.37.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of a report from the Labor Department showing a smaller than expected monthly increase in consumer prices and a bigger than expected slowdown in the annual rate of price growth.

The data suggests the Federal Reserve's efforts to contain inflation are having an effect, reinforcing recent optimism the central bank will slow the pace of interest rate hikes as early as next month.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, rebounding after three straight days of losses as the dollar fell on the better than expected U.S. inflation data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $0.64 or 0.8 percent at $86.47 a barrel.