Additional Support Called For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,600-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over falling treasury yields and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the energy producers and a mixed picture from the financial shares.

For the day, the index added 9.34 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 1,600.66 after trading between 1,593.68 and 1,602.88. Volume was 16.990 billion shares worth 64.623 billion baht. There were 1,012 decliners and 713 gainers, with 477 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.80 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.34 percent, Asset World rallied 2.56 percent, Banpu retreated 1.59 percent, Bangkok Bank jumped 1.76 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical strengthened 1.74 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.54 percent, B. Grimm improved 1.55 percent, BTS Group gained 0.61 percent, CP All Public increased 0.85 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods climbed 1.00 percent, Energy Absolute added 0.79 percent, Gulf gathered 0.50 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 3.08 percent, Krung Thai Bank soared 2.91 percent, Krung Thai Card collected 0.44 percent, PTT picked up 0.72 percent, PTT Exploration and Production perked 0.58 percent, PTT Global Chemical was up 0.60 percent, SCG Packaging spiked 1.90 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.47 percent, Siam Concrete accelerated 1.87 percent, Thai Oil tumbled 1.90 percent, True Corporation slumped 1.20 percent, TTB Bank surged 3.10 percent and IRPC and PTT Oil & Retail were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid for the third straight session as the major averages opened higher and picked up steam as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

For the day, the index spiked 337.12 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 31,836.74, while the NASDAQ surged 246.50 points or 2.25 percent to close at 11,199.12 and the S&P 500 jumped 61.77 points or 1.63 percent to end at 3,859.11.

The extended rally on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note showing a steep drop after ending the previous session at a 14-year closing high.

The pullback by treasury yields came as traders continue to express optimism the Federal Reserve will signal a slower pace of interest rate hikes following its meeting next week.

The markets also benefited from a positive reaction to the latest earnings news, with General Motors (GM) and Coca-Cola (KO) posting strong gains after reporting better than expected third quarter earnings.

Crude oil futures settled higher Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and concerns about supply after Saudi Arabia's energy minister commented that energy stocks were being used as a mechanism to manipulate markets. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for December ended higher by $0.74 or 0.9 percent at $85.32 a barrel.