Thai Stock Market Poised To Open In The Green On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Friday wrote a finish to the four-day losing streak I which it had slumped almost 40 points or 2.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,380-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on earnings expectations and news. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow the latter lead.

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

For the day, the index rose 4.58 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,382.51 after trading between 1,378.28 and 1,389.26. Volume was 16.009 billion shares worth 49.303 billion baht. There were 259 decliners and 206 gainers, with 187 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 1.40 percent, while Thailand Airport slumped 1.22 percent, Asset World tanked 2.54 percent, Banpu strengthened 1.53 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.34 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical added 0.93 percent, Bangkok Expressway stumbled 1.32 percent, BTS Group plummeted 4.23 percent, CP All Public gained 1.42 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 1.63 percent, Energy Absolute climbed 1.28 percent, Gulf advanced 1.12 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 2.71 percent, Krung Thai Bank jumped 1.69 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.54 percent, PTT improved 1.48 percent, PTT Exploration and Production accelerated 2.05 percent, PTT Global Chemical declined 1.43 percent, Siam Commercial Bank soared 2.44 percent, True Corporation surged 2.83 percent, TTB Bank skyrocketed 5.63 percent and Krung Thai Card, SCG Packaging, Siam Concrete, B. Grimm and Thai Oil were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Friday but accelerated throughout the day, sending the S&P and Dow to record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 395.20 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 37,863.80, while the NASDAQ surged 255.37 points or 1.70 percent to end at 15,310.97 and the S&P 500 rallied 58.87 points or 1.23 percent to close at 4,839.81.

For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ soared 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 shot up 1.2 percent and the Dow advanced by 0.7 percent.

The run to record highs on Wall Street reflected continued strength among tech stocks ahead of this week's earning news from companies like Intel (INTC), IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX).

Meanwhile, the Dow received a boost from a surge by shares of Travelers (TRV), with the insurance giant spiking by 6.7 after the company reported Q4 earnings that exceeded estimates.

Economic data also fueled the rally after the University of Michigan released a report showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and a continued decrease in inflation expectations.

Crude oil prices turned lower on Friday, reflecting profit taking after recent gains while traders also weighed concerns about Middle East tensions against uncertainty about the outlook for global demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery fell $0.67 or 0.9 percent to $73.41 a barrel. The more actively trade March contract slumped $0.70 or 1.0 percent to $73.25 a barrel.