The Thai stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the four-day losing streak in which it had plummeted more than 80 points or 5.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,590-point plateau although it's looking at renewed consolidation on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft on lockdown concerns resulting from the Omicron strain of COVID-19. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index jumped 22.12 points or 1.41 percent to finish at 1,590.81 after trading between 1,563.04 and 1,591.86. Volume was 31.095 billion shares worth 93.864 billion baht. There were 1,088 gainers and 659 decliners, with 501 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info spiked 2.43 percent, while Thailand Airport and Charoen Pokphand Foods both added 0.42 percent, Bangkok Bank rallied 2.21 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical advanced 0.90 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.59 percent, CP All Public gained 0.85 percent, Energy Absolute tumbled 2.13 percent, Gulf jumped 1.91 percent, IRPC accelerated 2.14 percent, Kasikornbank collected 2.27 percent, Krung Thai Bank increased 2.65 percent, Krung Thai Card rose 0.93 percent, PTT soared 3.52 percent, PTT Exploration and Production surged 3.96 percent, PTT Global Chemical gathered 1.78 percent, SCG Packaging perked 0.81 percent, Siam Commercial Bank strengthened 3.28 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 1.08 percent, True Corporation gained 1.77 percent, TTB Bank was up 0.84 percent and BTS Group and PTT Oil & Retail were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply higher on Wednesday but then plummeted deep into the red in the final hour of trade.
The Dow plunged 461.68 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 34,022.04, while the NASDAQ tumbled 283.64 points or 1.83 percent to close at 15,254.05 and the S&P 500 sank 53.96 points or 1.18 percent to end at 4,513.04.
The substantial downturn on Wall Street came after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the first confirmed case of Covid-19 caused by the new Omicron variant has been detected in the U.S.
"The individual, who was fully vaccinated and had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has been since testing positive," the CDC said. "All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative."
Traders largely shrugged off the latest U.S. economic news, including a report from payroll processor ADP showing that private sector employment increased more than expected in November. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity grew at a slightly faster rate last month.
Crude oil prices showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but came under pressure over the course of the session on news of the Omicron case. Crude for January delivery slumped $0.61 or 0.9 percent $65.57 a barrel, its lowest closing level in three months.
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