Thai Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 15 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,630-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, with gains likely limited by profit taking from the oil and technology sectors. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.

For the day, the index rose 4.70 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,629.95 after trading between 1,624.92 and 1,632.86. Volume was 19.883 billion shares worth 76.866 billion baht. There were 1,009 decliners and 734 gainers, with 495 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Thailand Airport retreated 1.38 percent, while Banpu strengthened 1.49 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.37 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.80 percent, Bangkok Expressway tumbled 2.22 percent, B. Grimm shed 0.64 percent, BTS Group tanked 2.30 percent, Energy Absolute plunged 2.62 percent, Gulf dropped 1.00 percent, IRPC strengthened 1.75 percent, Krung Thai Bank declined 1.21 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 1.69 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.92 percent, PTT perked 1.35 percent, PTT Exploration and Production increased 0.97 percent, PTT Global Chemical added 0.53 percent, SCG Packaging fell 0.43 percent, Siam Concrete gathered 0.27 percent, Siam Global House surged 3.74 percent, Thai Oil rallied 2.75 percent, True Corporation slumped 1.21 percent, TTB Bank lost 0.83 percent and Advanced Info, Asset World, CP All Public, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the unchanged line, rallied mid-day but still finished the same way.

The Dow jumped 239.57 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 34,152.01, while the NASDAQ fell 25.50 points or 0.19 percent to close at 13,102.55 and the S&P 500 rose 8.06 points or 0.19 percent to end at 4,305.20.

The continued advance by the Dow was partly due to strong gains by Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) after both companies reported better than expected second quarter results.

Buying interest may also have been generated in reaction to a report from the Federal Reserve showing U.S. industrial production increased more than expected in July.

Traders largely shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing new residential construction tumbled by much more than expected last month.

Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday on worries about the outlook for energy demand and on a potential increase in supply from OPEC. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September sank $2.88 or 3.2 percent at $86.53 a barrel.