Thai Stock Market Predicted To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 20 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,635-point plateau and it's expected to extend its gains again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets finished higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index picked up 10.97 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 1,635.36 after trading between 1,622.24 and 1,636.08. Volume was 17.497 billion shares worth 79.466 billion baht. There were 937 gainers and 678 decliners, with 525 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.53 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.67 percent, Asset World jumped 1.61 percent, Banpu strengthened 1.55 percent, Bangkok Bank lost 0.69 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical rallied 1.68 percent, Bangkok Expressway rose 0.54 percent, B. Grimm climbed 1.35 percent, BTS Group spiked 1.82 percent, CP All Public soared 2.36 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.84 percent, Energy Absolute accelerated 2.11 percent, Gulf improved 1.92 percent, IRPC sank 0.65 percent, Kasikornbank dropped 0.69 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dipped 0.27 percent, PTT Global Chemical fell 0.52 percent, SCG Packaging slumped 0.90 percent, Siam Concrete retreated 1.18 percent, TTB Bank collected 1.45 percent and Krung Thai Bank, Krung Thai Card, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Oil and True Corporation were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up sharply positive as the major averages opened fairly flat and stayed that way before exploding higher late in the day.

The Dow surged 737.24 points or 2.18 percent to finish at 34,589.77, while the NASDAQ soared 484.22 points or 4.41 percent to end at 11,468.00 and the S&P 500 rallied 122.48 points or 3.09 percent to close at 4,080.11.

The rally on Wall Street came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks provided further evidence the central bank plans to slow its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes as soon as next month.

The Fed's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for December 13-14, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 77.0 percent chance of a 50-basis point rate hike and a 23.0 percent chance of a fifth straight 75-basis point rate hike.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP noted slower than expected private sector job growth in November, while the Commerce Department reported an unexpected upward revision to GDP growth in the third quarter.

Crude oil futures surged on Wednesday after data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. Expectations of increased demand from China and a weaker dollar also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $2.35 or 3 percent at $80.55 a barrel.