Thai Stock Market Expected To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market ticked higher again on Thursday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up just 3 points or 0.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,385-point plateau and it's likely to see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive as soft U.S. economic data reinforced the case for an interest rate cut in June. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index rose 2.16 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 1,387.27 after trading between 1,383.66 and 1,302.46. Volume was 15.019 billion shares worth 42.060 billion baht. There were 255 decliners and 211 gainers, with 186 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info stumbled 1.41 percent, while Thailand Airport gained 0.40 percent, Asset World, PTT Exploration and Production, and Siam Commercial Bank all dropped 0.98 percent, Banpu advanced 0.85 percent, Bangkok Bank tanked 2.11 percent, B. Grimm spiked 1.75 percent, BTS Group plummeted 5.00 percent, CP All Public strengthened 1.87 percent, Gulf skidded 1.15 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.24 percent, Krung Thai Bank plunged 2.53 percent, Krung Thai Card shed 0.58 percent, PTT Global Chemical rallied 1.35 percent, SCG Packaging declined 1.61 percent, Siam Concrete fell 0.38 percent, Thai Oil accelerated 1.77 percent, True Corporation sank 0.78 percent, TTB Bank jumped 1.66 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Energy Absolute, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Bangkok Dusit Medical and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday but climbed steadily throughout the day so that they all ended in the green.

The Dow jumped 348.85 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 38,773.12, while the NASDAQ added 47.03 points or 0.30 percent to close at 15,906.17 and the S&P 500 rose 29.11 points or 0.58 percent to end at 5,029.73.

The higher close on Wall Street came after a Commerce Department report showing a much bigger than expected decrease in U.S. retail sales in January led to renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

The Federal Reserve also released a report showing industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly lower in January.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday as the dollar weakened after the weak retail sales data raised hopes of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rallied $1.39 or 1.8 percent at $78.03 a barrel.