Ahead of the long weekend for the Songkran Festival, the Thai stock market had ticked higher again on Friday - one session after it had snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 15 points or 0.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,660-point plateau and now it's called higher on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on positive earnings news and support from crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SET finished slightly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index added 1.36 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 1,660.45 after trading between 1,654.46 and 1,662.60. Volume was 9.076 billion shares worth 33.085 billion baht. There were 618 decliners and 588 gainers, with 526 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.26 percent, while Thailand Airport gained 0.37 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.48 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 1.00 percent, BTS Group surged 3.57 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.99 percent, Kasikornbank rose 0.26 percent, PTT shed 0.52 percent, PTT Exploration and Production was up 0.38 percent, PTT Global Chemical sank 0.70 percent, Siam Commercial Bank tumbled 1.90 percent, Siam Concrete perked 0.88 percent, TNB Bank dropped 0.96 percent and Krung Thai Bank, Banpu and Bangkok Medical were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as stocks fluctuated on Tuesday but managed to finish in the green.
The Dow added 67.89 points or 0.26 percent to 26,452.66, while the NASDAQ gained 24.21 points or 0.30 percent to 8,000.23 and the S&P 500 rose 1.48 points or 0.05 percent to 2,907.06.
Early buying interest was generated in reaction to solid earnings news from Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and UnitedHealth (UNH).
The buying interest was offset by Federal Reserve report showing industrial production unexpectedly fell in March. Also, the National Association of Home Builders noted a modest improvement in U.S. homebuilder confidence in April.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday amid prospects of tight supply conditions in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $0.65 or 1 percent at $64.05 a barrel.
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