Ahead of Friday's special market holiday, the Thai stock market had moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,630-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky following recent volatility, with crude oil prices providing support in what has been an otherwise tough month. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index gained 11.56 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 1,631.15 after trading between 1,623.00 and 1,637.65. Volume was 43.830 billion shares worth 140.532 billion baht. There were 1,120 decliners and 639 gainers, with 527 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Thailand Airport added 0.40 percent, while Bangkok Bank soared 3.52 percent, Bangkok Expressway retreated 1.65 percent, BTS Group gained 0.52 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods dropped 0.95 percent, Gulf improved 0.61 percent, Kasikornbank surged 7.38 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 2.68 percent, Krung Thai Card declined 1.65 percent, PTT perked 1.27 percent, PTT Exploration and Production rose 0.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical advanced 0.83 percent, SCG Packaging climbed 1.19 percent, Siam Commercial Bank skyrocketed 18.72 percent, TTB Bank spiked 3.70 percent and Advanced Info, Bangkok Dusit Medical, PTT Oil & Retail and Siam Concrete were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Friday and then bounced back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing mixed and little changed.
The Dow added 33.18 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 34,798.00, while the NASDAQ eased 4.54 points or 0.03 percent to close at 15,047.70 and the S&P 500 rose 6.50 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,455.48. For the week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the NASDAQ added 0.1 percent and the S&P gained 0.5 percent.
The lackluster performance on Wall Street came on uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.
Traders also expressed uncertainty about the situation with China Evergrande, as the indebted property company has not provided clarification about a key interest payment.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected increase in U.S. new home sales in August.
Crude oil prices climbed Friday and front-month WTI oil futures contracts saw gains for a fifth straight week amid tighter supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November rose $0.68 or 0.9 percent at 73.98 a barrel. WTI Crude futures gained 2.8 percent for the week.
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