Thai Stock Market May Reclaim 1,300-Point Plateau

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has moved lower in five straight sessions, slumping more than 15 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just shy of the 1,300-point plateau although it's expected to open to the upside on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and positive data. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SET finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the food, consumer, finance, industrial and property sectors.

For the day, the index fell 1.38 points or 0.25 percent to finish at 1,295.29 after trading between 1,283.13 and 1,301.06. Volume was 7.434 billion shares worth 43.468 billion baht. There were 274 decliners and 177 gainers, with 205 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 3.30 percent, while Banpu retreated 1.61 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical added 0.53 percent, BTS Group plunged 2.76 percent, CP All Public declined 1.64 percent, Energy Absolute spiked 2.78 percent, Gulf accelerated 2.34 percent, Kasikornbank retreated 1.35 percent, Krung Thai Bank tumbled 1.80 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.63 percent, PTT Oil & Retail sank 0.68 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 0.94 percent, PTT Global Chemical plummeted 6.76 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.38 percent, Siam Concrete stumbled 2.30 percent, Thai Oil slumped 1.39 percent, True Corporation jumped 1.79 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Bangkok Bank, Asset World, B. Grimm, PTT, Thailand Airport and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened barely on Wednesday in the red but quickly accelerated into the green and stayed there for the balance of the day.

The Dow jumped 225.76 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 47,311.00, while the NASDAQ rallied 151.16 points or 0.65 percent to end at 23,499.80 and the S&P 500 gained 24.74 points or 0.37 percent to close at 6,796.29.

The strength for most of the day came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop on Tuesday, which reflected concerns about valuations.

Positive sentiment may also have been generated by some upbeat U.S. economic data, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment in the U.S. rebounded by more than expected in October.

Also, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. service sector activity returned to expansion in October.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday as concerns about excess supply and lower demand compelled investors to refrain from big moves. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $0.92 or 1.52 percent at $59.64 per barrel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.