Thai Bourse May Find Traction On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than a dozen points or 0.7 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,670-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after solid economic data helped to allay fears of an economic slowdown. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index shed 10.77 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 1,671.34 after trading between 1,667.43 and 1,684.84. Volume was 19.243 billion shares worth 72.411 billion baht. There were 1,202 decliners and 485 gainers, with 427 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.50 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.33 percent, Asset World retreated 1.61 percent, Banpu declined 1.60 percent, Bangkok Bank rallied 2.26 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical soared 3.45 percent, B. Grimm plummeted 4.73 percent, BTS Group skidded 1.15 percent, CP All Public sank 0.72 percent, Energy Absolute tanked 2.13 percent, Gulf dropped 0.92 percent, Kasikornbank collected 1.39 percent, Krung Thai Bank climbed 1.13 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.88 percent, PTT Oil & Retail slumped 0.87 percent, PTT weakened 0.75 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 0.58 percent, PTT Global Chemical plunged 2.93 percent, SCG Packaging added 0.48 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 0.94 percent, Siam Concrete tumbled 3.19 percent, Thai Oil was down 1.28 percent, True Corporation dipped 0.41 percent, TTB Bank improved 0.69 percent and Bangkok Expressway and Charoen Pokphand Foods were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early volatility, moving solidly higher as the day progressed to end near session highs.

The Dow jumped 205.57 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 33,949.41, while the NASDAQ spiked 199.06 points or 1.76 percent to end at 11,512.41 and the S&P 500 climbed 44.21 points or 1.10 percent to close at 4,060.43.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic activity surged by more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Also, the Labor Department also said initial jobless claims unexpectedly dipped to a nine-month low last week, while the Commerce Department noted a spike in durable goods orders and a continued increase in new home sales.

The data paints a relatively positive picture of the economy but has also raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

Crude oil prices showed a strong move to the upside on Thursday, benefitting from optimism about the outlook for demand following the release of upbeat U.S. economic data. West Texas Intermediate Crude for March delivery jumped $0.86 or 1.1 percent to $81.01 a barrel.