Thai Stock Market Mat Run Out Of Steam On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, rallying almost 30 points or 2 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,400-point plateau although investors may cash in on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, properties, industrials, resource stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index jumped 25.53 points or 1.86 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,401.11 after moving as low as 1,376.83. Volume was 11.676 billion shares worth 48.405 billion baht. There were 342 gainers and 149 decliners, with 169 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info increased 1.47 percent, while Thailand Airport accelerated 2.29 percent, Asset World skyrocketed 8.17 percent, Banpu jumped 4.63 percent, Bangkok Bank soared 2.55 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.88 percent, Bangkok Expressway gained 1.23 percent, B. Grimm added 0.90 percent, BTS Group improved 1.64 percent, CP All Public rose 0.45 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods climbed 1.18 percent, Energy Absolute skyrocketed 9.30 percent, Gulf soared 2.91 percent, Kasikornbank collected 1.21 percent, Krung Thai Bank strengthened 1.20 percent, Krung Thai Card accelerated 2.21 percent, PTT Oil & Retail climbed 1.09 percent, PTT perked 0.72 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rose 0.31 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.89 percent, SCG Packaging rallied 5.04 percent, Siam Commercial Bank spiked 2.22 percent, Siam Concrete improved 1.97 percent, Thai Oil added 0.85 percent, True Corporation advanced 2.50 percent and TTB Bank surged 3.41 percent.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be murky as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south to spend most of the day in the red before a late rally saw them finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 9.13 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 38,883.67, while the NASDAQ gained 52.68 points or 0.32 percent to close at 16,306.64 and the S&P 500 rose 7.52 points or 0.14 percent to end at 5,209.91.

The volatility on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation later today.

The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly said they need greater confidence that inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Wednesday will also see the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, which could also shed additional light on officials' thinking on rates.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, slumping for a second straight session as traders assessed the prospect of meaningful progress in Gaza ceasefire talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.20 or 1.4 percent at $85.23 a barrel.

Closer to home, the central bank in Thailand is expected to conclude its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates; the bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2,50 percent.