The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,615-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing trade concerns and a rebound in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up on Friday and the Asian bourses re tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the energy producers.
For the day, the index added 4.33 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 1,614.12 after trading between 1,599.10 and 1,617.62. Volume was 14.481 billion shares worth 55.153 billion baht. There were 729 gainers and 558 decliners, with 463 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.79 percent, while Thailand Airport skidded 1.50 percent, Banpu climbed 1.41 percent, Bangkok Bank rose 0.25 percent, Bangkok Medical dropped 0.96 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.80 percent, Krung Thai Bank gained 0.53 percent, PTT Exploration and Production plummeted 4.23 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.25 percent, Siam Concrete was up 0.43 percent, TMB Bank advanced 1.60 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, PTT, Bangkok Expressway and BTS Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Friday. They pulled back from session highs but remained in the green, cutting into recent losses.
The Dow added 95.22 points or 0.37 percent to finish at 25,585.69, while the NASDAQ rose 8.73 points or 0.11 percent to 7,637.01 and the S&P gained 3.82 points or 0.14 percent to 2,826.06. For the week, the Dow shed 0.7 percent, the NASDAQ lost 2.3 percent and the S&P fell 1.2 percent.
Bargain hunting contributed to the early strength on Wall Street as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following Thursday's steep losses.
The markets also benefited from easing trade concerns as President Donald Trump said he remains hopeful of a U.S.-China trade deal, noting he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit next month.
The subsequent pullback by stocks was partly due to news that J.P. Morgan economists slashed their second quarter GDP growth forecast to 1 percent from 2.25 percent.
Crude oil futures moved higher Friday, rebounding from recent losses, after trade worries faded. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.72 or 1.2 percent at $58.63 a barrel.
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