The Thai stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 25 points or 1.7 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,630-point plateau and it's called higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, mainly on news that a Brexit agreement may be at hand. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the energy producers were offset by a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index dipped 1.66 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 1,632.80 after trading between 1,630.47 and 1,640.15. Volume was 18.964 billion shares worth 60.882 billion baht. There were 855 decliners and 642 gainers, with 482 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info tumbled 2.54 percent, while Asset World surged 5.43 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.30 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods sank 1.85 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.63 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.60 percent, PTT skidded 1.67 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dropped 1.68 percent, PTT Global Chemical retreated 1.49 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.43 percent, Siam Concrete lost 0.81 percent and TMB Bank, BTS Group, Thailand Airport, Banpu, Bangkok Medical and Bangkok Expressway all were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks fluctuated on Thursday before ending slightly higher, although buying interest was subdued.
The Dow added 23.90 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 27,025.88, while the NASDAQ added 32.67 points or 0.40 percent to 8,156.85 and the S&P 500 rose 8.26 points or 0.28 percent to 2,997.95.
Early buying interest was generated by news that U.K. and European Union negotiators have reached a last-minute Brexit deal - although it still needs to be approved by U.K. lawmakers.
In economic news, the Federal Reserve reported a bigger than expected decrease in industrial output in September, while the Commerce Department showed a sharp pullback in housing starts last month.
While these numbers raise some concerns about the health of the U.S. economy, they also increase the likelihood of another interest rate cut from the FOMC.
Crude oil prices rebounded after early weakness and settled higher Thursday, despite data showing a jump in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November ended up $0.57, or 1.1 percent at $53.93 a barrel.
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