The Thai stock market on Wednesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 40 points or 2.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,580-point plateau although it's expected to open higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is positive after a couple of days of weakness, although sinking crude oil prices may cap the upside. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.
The SET finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index eased 0.03 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 1,580.01 after trading between 1,575.56 and 1,584.57. Volume was 28.070 billion shares worth 80.536 billion baht. There were 885 decliners and 662 gainers, with 441 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info rallied 2.29 percent, while Thailand Airport retreated 1.52 percent, Asset World skidded 1.23 percent, Bangkok Asset Management shed 0.48 percent, Bangkok Bank sank 0.78 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 0.91 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 0.62 percent, BTS Group fell 0.55 percent, Gulf spiked 2.19 percent, Krung Thai Bank declined 1.69 percent, PTT surrendered 1.26 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slid 0.87 percent, PTT Global Chemical eased 0.40 percent, SCG Packaging dipped 0.50 percent, Siam Concrete advanced 0.96 percent, TMB Bank collected 0.83 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Kasikornbank, PTT Oil & Retail and Siam Commercial Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages shook off early weakness on Wednesday and finished firmly in the green, snapping a two-day slide.
The Dow spiked 316.01 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 34,137.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 163.95 points or 1.19 percent to end at 13,950.22 and the S&P 500 climbed 38.48 points or 0.93 percent to close at 4,173.42.
Despite concerns about high valuations, traders have largely been reluctant to sell stocks amid worries about missing out on further upside.
Stocks linked to the economy reopening saw significant strength, while shares of Netflix (NFLX) moved sharply lower after the company reported much weaker than expected subscriber growth.
Crude oil futures declined sharply on Wednesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising coronavirus infections in India. Data showing an unexpected uptick in U.S. crude inventories also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June fell $1.32 or 2.1 percent at $61.35 a barrel, the lowest close since April 13.
Closer to home, Thailand will release March figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In February, imports were up 21.99 percent on year and exports were down 2.59 percent for a trade surplus of $7.25 billion.
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