The Thai stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, accelerating almost 70 points or 5.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,265-point plateau and it's poised to extend its gains again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian is broadly positive as the contentious election in the United States remains unsettled. The European and U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished sharply higher on Thursday with gains across the board - especially from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index rallied 41.88 points or 3.43 percent to finish at 1,264.32 after trading between 1,232.72 and 1,266.58. Volume was 32.301 billion shares worth 80.914 billion baht. There were 1,215 gainers and 559 decliners, with 296 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info climbed 4.07 percent, while Thailand Airport jumped 4.13 percent, Asset World spiked 5.16 percent, Bangkok Bank collected 3.84 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical added 3.98 percent, Bangkok Expressway advanced 4.19 percent, BTS Group gained 3.31 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rallied 5.88 percent, Indorama Ventures skyrocketed 8.65 percent, Kasikornbank rose 2.28 percent, Krung Thai Bank increased 1.71 percent, PTT perked 4.62 percent, PTT Exploration and Production was up 1.53 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 5.99 percent, Siam Commercial Bank gathered 3.44 percent, Siam Concrete improved 2.64 percent and TMB Bank soared 4.71 percent.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be form as stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday and stayed that way, extending gains from the previous two sessions.
The Dow soared 542.52 points or 1.95 percent to finish at 28,390.18, while the NASDAQ surged 300.15 points or 2.59 percent to end at 11,890.93 and the S&P 500 jumped 67.01 points or 1.95 percent to close at 3,510.45.
The continued strength on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on the latest news regarding the presidential election. Democratic nominee Joe Biden currently seems poised to unseat President Donald Trump, although Democrats are not expected to take control of the Senate.
Meanwhile, the members of the Federal Reserve decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent, as widely expected. The accompanying statement said the Fed expects rates to remain unchanged until labor market reaches levels consistent with the central bank's assessments of maximum employment.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week; later today, the Labor Department will release its more closely watched report on employment in October.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak as rising coronavirus cases and the delay in outcome of the U.S. Presidential election weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December settled with a loss of $0.36 or 0.9 percent at $38.79 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will see October results for its consumer confidence index later today; in September, the index score was 50.2.
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