The Thai stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 25 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,220-point plateau and it's poised to extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is upbeat on hopes for a definitive result from the United States presidential election. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to also open in the green.
The SET finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index jumped 19.17 points or 1.59 percent to finish at 1,221.33 after trading between 1,209.90 and 1,222.78. Volume was 19.870 billion shares worth 50.169 billion baht. There were 971 gainers and 597 decliners, with 372 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.29 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.47 percent, Asset World tumbled 1.88 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.28 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.57 percent, Bangkok Expressway advanced 1.20 percent, BTS Group rose 0.56 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods and Kasikornbank both jumped 1.96 percent, Krung Thai Bank gathered 1.73 percent, PTT surged 5.65 percent, PTT Exploration and Production soared 3.53 percent, PTT Global Chemical skyrocketed 7.05 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 0.77 percent, Siam Concrete perked 1.78 percent and TMB Bank rallied 2.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the day, extending gains from the previous session.
The Dow surged 554.98 points or 2.06 percent to finish at 27,480.03, while the NASDAQ spiked 202.96 points or 1.85 percent to end at 11,160.57 and the S&P 500 jumped 58.92 points or 1.78 percent to close at 3,369.16.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders hope for a definitive outcome from the election. Democratic candidate Joe Biden holds a clear lead in national polls and is also leading in several key swing states in his bid to defeat President Donald Trump.
Traders seem optimistic that the results of the election will be known at the end of the night without the need for lawsuits and recounts. Trump has repeatedly raised questions about the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and has not committed to a peaceful transition of power.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods showed a significant increase in September.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday on a weaker dollar and hopes that OPEC may postpone a plan to ease output cuts in January. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.85 or 2.3 percent at $37.66 a barrel.
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