Rebound Anticipated For Thai Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had picked up almost 30 points or 1.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,685-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.

For the day, the index fell 5.66 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 1,685.75 after trading between 1,681.88 and 1,695.13. Volume was 17.838 billion shares worth 73.074 billion baht. There were 964 decliners and 561 gainers, with 513 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info tumbled 1.97 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 1.33 percent, Asset World and Bangkok Dusit Medical both declined 1.63 percent, Banpu sank 0.80 percent, Bangkok Bank slumped 1.26 percent, Bangkok Expressway weakened 1.56 percent, CP All Public plummeted 3.52 percent, Energy Absolute dipped 0.27 percent, Gulf gained 0.45 percent, Kasikornbank fell 0.32 percent, Krung Thai Bank stumbled 1.66 percent, Krung Thai Card shed 0.43 percent, PTT Oil & Retail added 0.42 percent, PTT improved 0.75 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 0.89 percent, PTT Global Chemical perked 0.50 percent, SCG Packaging plunged 2.59 percent, Siam Commercial Bank lost 0.88 percent, Siam Concrete was up 0.28 percent, True Corporation slid 0.41 percent, TTB Bank surrendered 1.37 percent and B. Grimm, BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Thai Oil were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and mostly improved as the session progressed.

The Dow jumped 268.91 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 33,973.01, while the NASDAQ spiked 189.04 points or 1.76 percent to close at 10,931.67 and the S&P 500 advanced 50.36 points or 1.28 percent to end at 3,969.61.

The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about the highly anticipated consumer price inflation report due later today.

The report is expected to show a slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth and could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on hopes for a global economic recovery and the possible impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February jumped by $2.29 or 3.1 percent at $77.41 a barrel, rising for a fifth straight session.