Thai Stock Market May See Additional Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Friday snapped the two-day slide in which it had slumped more than 25 points or 1.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,570-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after heavy selling last week, especially among the oil and technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly higher on Friday as the financial shares and the energy producers were mostly in the green.

For the day, the index rose 4.34 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 1,572.67 after trading between 1,563.39 and 1,575.77. Volume was 14.988 billion shares worth 49.435 billion baht. There were 778 decliners and 683 gainers, with 567 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info strengthened 1.54 percent, while Thailand Airport sank 0.70 percent, Banpu retreated 1.59 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.75 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.57 percent, CP All Public soared 3.75 percent, Energy Absolute gained 0.61 percent, Gulf improved 0.54 percent, Kasikornbank increased 0.66 percent, Krung Thai Bank perked 0.65 percent, Krung Thai Card lost 0.44 percent, PTT climbed 1.47 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dipped 0.31 percent, SCG Packaging rose 0.45 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gathered 0.48 percent, Siam Concrete advanced 1.07 percent, Thai Oil jumped 1.46 percent, True Corporation was up 0.87 percent, TTB Bank dropped 0.81 percent and Asset World, Bangkok Dusit Medical, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods, IRPC, PTT Oil & Retail and PTT Global Chemical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early listlessness on Friday, accelerating in the second half to finish near session highs.

The Dow spiked 321.86 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 31,097.26, while the NASDAQ jumped 99.14 points or 0.90 percent to close at 11,127.84 and the S&P 500 soared 39.95 points or 1.06 percent to end at 3,825.33.

For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 4.1 percent, the S&P sank 2.2 percent and the Dow dropped 1.3 percent.

The higher close on Wall Street came as traders went bargain hunting following early session selling. Concerns about the possibility of tighter monetary policy triggering a global recession also weigh on the markets in early trading.

Stocks fell under pressure following a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing U.S. manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in June, while a separate report from the Commerce Department showed U.S. construction spending unexpectedly edged lower in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher Friday on concerns about supply outages in Libya and shutdowns in Norway caused by striking workers. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $2.67 or 2.5 percent at $108.43 a barrel. WTI crude oil futures rose 1 percent in the week.