The Thai stock market on Friday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,570-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is mixed to higher, with optimism again limited by bond yield concerns. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the energy producers.
For the day, the index dipped 6.94 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 1,568.19 points after trading between 1,562.90 and 1,584.40. Volume was 28.414 billion shares worth 84.023 billion baht. There were 1,088 decliners and 560 gainers, with 400 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info fell 0.29 percent, while Thailand Airport shed 0.72 percent, Bangkok Asset Management lost 0.46 percent, Bangkok Bank slid 0.40 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.93 percent, Bangkok Expressway sank 0.57 percent, BTS Group slid 0.53 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods declined 0.81 percent, Gulf rallied 2.24 percent, Kasikornbank tanked 2.33 percent, Krung Thai Bank retreated 0.81 percent, PTT added 0.60 percent, PTT Exploration and Production dipped 0.42 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.49 percent, Siam Commercial Bank surrendered 0.90 percent, TMB Bank tumbled 1.61 percent and SCG Packaging, Siam Concrete, Asset World and PTT Oil and Retail were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street continues to be a dichotomy as the Dow opened higher and remained so on its way to a record closing high. The NASDAQ and S&P opened in the red, although the latter inched into the green by the session's close.
The Dow jumped 293.05 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 32,778.64, while the NASDAQ sank 78.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 13,319.86 and the S&P 500 rose 4.00 points or 0.10 percent to close at 3,943.34. For the week, the Dow spiked 4.1 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 3.1 percent and the S&P gained 2.6 percent.
The continued advance by the Dow came as traders expressed optimism about the economy reopening after President Joe Biden directed states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. The vaccine news combined with the new $1.9 trillion stimulus package led to hopes for a return to normalcy after a year of the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the economic optimism also led to a spike in treasury yields, with the ten-year yield surging above 1.6 percent to reach its highest levels in a year - which resulted in selling pressure for the tech-heavy NASDAQ.
In economic news, the University of Michigan said U.S. consumer sentiment improved more than expected in March, hitting a one-year index high.
Crude oil prices fluctuated on Friday as traders remained optimistic about the outlook for energy demand but seemed reluctant to continue pushing oil prices higher. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery closed down $0.41 at $65.61 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will see January unemployment data later today; in December, the jobless rate was 1.5 percent.
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