The Thai stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,555-point plateau although it's expected to find traction on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian market is cautiously optimistic, with upside limited by surging coronavirus cases in India. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index dropped 14.62 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 1,553.59 after trading between 1,550.62 and 1,564.62.
Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.85 percent, while Thailand Airport skidded 1.18 percent, Asset World retreated 1.68 percent, Bangkok Asset Management sank 0.97 percent, Bangkok Bank declined 1.62 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical jumped 1.86 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.62 percent, Gulf surrendered 1.46 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 3.65 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.88 percent, PTT lost 0.64 percent, PTT Exploration and Production fell 1.31 percent, PTT Global Chemical slid 0.80 percent, SCG Packaging dipped 0.51 percent, Siam Commercial Bank tumbled 1.88 percent, Siam Concrete was down 0.47 percent, TMB Bank tanked 2.52 percent and BTS Group, Charoen Pokphand Foods and PTT Oil & Retail were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages showed a strong move to the upside, picking up steam as the session progressed.
The Dow spiked 227.59 points or 0.67 percent, while the NASDAQ jumped 198.39 points or 1.44 percent to end at 14,016.81 and the S&P 500 gained 45.19 points or 1.09 percent to close at 4,180.17. For the week, the Dow fell 0.5 percent, the NASDAQ shed 1.4 percent and the S&P eased 0.1 percent.
The rebound on Wall Street partly reflected the volatility seen over the past few sessions, which saw the major averages show big swings back-and-forth.
Optimism about the economic recovery has helped prop up the markets, although concerns about high valuations and surging coronavirus cases overseas have led to worries about the near-term outlook.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial rebound in new home sales in March, sending sales to their highest level since August 2006.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday, lifted by buoyant demand for energy in the U.S. despite a weak global outlook. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for June ended up by $0.71 or 1.2 percent at $62.14 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 1.7 percent in the week.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
