Thai Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Friday

(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market has ticked higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 20 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,400-point plateau, although the market figures to be stuck in neutral on Friday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky after a slight pullback in the price of crude oil and mixed economic data that clouds the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SET finished slightly higher on Thursday as the financial shares and energy producers were mostly higher.

For the day, the index gained 4.01 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,401.64 after trading between 1,398.08 and 1,404.47. Volume was 7.537 billion shares worth 37.169 billion baht. There were 564 decliners and 547 gainers, with 315 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info spiked 2.60 percent, while coal miner Banpu added 0.83 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.28 percent, Kasikornbank jumped 1.22 percent, energy giant PTT advanced 1.67 percent, PTT Exploration and Production perked 1.94 percent, PTT Global Chemical fell 0.82 percent, Siam Commercial Bank was unchanged and Siam Concrete lost 0.85 percent. The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks showed a lack of direction on Thursday as traders digested mixed economic data, which added uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. The NASDAQ inched up 6.88 points or 0.1 percent to 4,901.77, while the Dow slipped 23.22 points or 0.1 percent to 17,828.29 and the S&P 500 eased 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,090.10. In economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported that pending home sales surged to their highest level in a decade in April. The Labor Department noted a bigger than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended May 21, while the Commerce Department reported a sharp jump in durable goods orders in April. Also, the price of crude oil for July delivery edged down $0.08 to $49.48 a barrel after climbing above $50 a barrel for the first time since October.