Thai Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, gathering almost 50 points or 4.1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,265-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, clouded by conflicting reports on U.S. tariffs. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to tick lower on profit taking.

The SET finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the food, finance and resource sectors were offset by weakness from the consumer, industrial, service and technology stocks.

For the day, the index rose 2.65 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 1,267.12 after trading between 1,266.34 and 1,280.78. Volume was 10.117 billion shares worth 48.949 billion baht. There were 238 decliners and 235 gainers, with 179 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.68 percent, while Thailand Airport increased 1.25 percent, Asset World spiked 2.63 percent, Banpu skidded 0.99 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.33 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical lost 0.89 percent, Bangkok Expressway advanced 0.91 percent, B. Grimm surged 5.08 percent, BTS Group was down 0.55 percent, CP All Public climbed 1.06 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods jumped 1.69 percent, Energy Absolute accelerated 2.74 percent, Gulf improved 2.13 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 2.17 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.85 percent, PTT Oil & Retail declined 1.53 percent, PTT Exploration and Production shed 0.41 percent, PTT Global Chemical stumbled 2.02 percent, SCG Packaging retreated 1.60 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 0.98 percent, Thai Oil slumped 1.47 percent, True Corporation tumbled 1.79 percent and TTB Bank, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank and PTT were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher but quickly slumped and then spent the day hugging the line, ending little changed and on opposite sides.

The Dow stumbled 224.48 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 43,968.64, while the NASDAQ gained 73.27 points or 0.35 percent to close at 21,242.70 and the S&P 500 fell 5.06 points or 0.08 percent to end at 6,340.00.

The early strength on Wall Street came after President Donald Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on imports of semiconductors and chips but said companies that are building in the United States would be exempt.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders continued to express concerns about the economic impact of Trump's trade policies as new tariffs on dozens of countries took effect on Thursday.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week. Also, the Labor Department noted a significant rebound by labor productivity in the second quarter.

Crude oil prices fell Thursday on inconsistency in the U.S. stance on Russia and it's invasion on Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.49 or 0.76 percent at $63.86 per barrel.