The Thai stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 40 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,815-point plateau and the market figures to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amid inconsistent data and a bump in crude oil prices. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index picked up 2.68 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 1,816.08 after trading between 1,809.94 and 1,820.51. Volume was 12.414 billion shares worth 61.410 billion baht. There were 680 gainers and 662 decliners, with 400 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Thailand Airport shed 0.37 percent, while Banpu tumbled 1.34 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 0.48 percent, Bangkok Medical jumped 1.34 percent, Bangkok Expressway skidded 1.37 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods plunged 1.96 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.44 percent, Krung Thai Bank spiked 1.51 percent, PTT fell 0.36 percent, PTT Exploration and Production added 0.43 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 2.88 percent, Siam Commercial Bank advanced 1.35 percent, Siam Cement gained 0.79 percent and Advanced Info was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks showed a lack of direction on Thursday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.
The Dow added 115.54 points or 0.47 percent to 24,873.66, while the NASDAQ shed 15.07 points or 0.20 percent to 7,481.74 and the S&P fell 2.15 points or 0.08 percent to 2,747.33.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders digested a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing initial jobless claims edged lower in the week ended March 10.
The Labor Department also said import prices increased more than expected in February, while export prices gained less than expected. The National Association of Home Builders saw a fall in March homebuilder confidence.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said activity in the New York manufacturing sector grew robustly in March, while the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said growth in its manufacturing sector slowed in March.
Crude oil prices rose Thursday despite demand warnings from OPEC and signs the U.S. shale boom will continue unabated. April WTI oil gained 23 cents or 0.4 percent to $61.19/bbl.
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