The Thai stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 25 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,535-point plateau although it figures to run out of steam on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian is increasingly negative as the debt ceiling situation in the United States continues to drag on. The European and U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SET finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials and services and energy companies were offset by weakness from the food and industrial sectors.
For the day, the index rose 1.67 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 1,536.51 after trading between 1,529.45 and 1,542.91. Volume was 12.617 billion shares worth 44.664 billion baht.
Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.94 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.35 percent, Banpu plunged 2.40 percent, Bangkok Bank advanced 0.93 percent, Bangkok Expressway sank 0.60 percent, B. Grimm added 0.67 percent, BTS Group slumped 1.30 percent, CP All Public strengthened 1.61 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods skidded 1.00 percent, Gulf was down 0.52 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.12 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.52 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.26 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.01 percent, PTT Global Chemical lost 0.66 percent, SCG Packaging tumbled 1.76 percent, Siam Concrete slid 0.30 percent, Thai Oil rallied 1.63 percent, True Corporation declined 1.46 percent, TTB Bank retreated 1.27 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical, Asset World, Energy Absolute, PTT Oil & Retail and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.
The Dow tumbled 255.59 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 32,799.92. while the NASDAQ sank 76.08 points or 0.61 percent to close at 12,484.16 and the S&P 500 dropped 30.34 points or 0.73 percent to end at 4,115.24.
Lingering concerns about lawmakers' ability to reach an agreement on increasing the U.S. debt ceiling continued to weigh on Wall Street.
While negotiations have continued this week, traders remain worried about reports suggesting a lack of progress towards a deal.
Traders were also digesting the minutes of the Federal Reserve's May monetary policy meeting, which indicated uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, rising for the third consecutive session on concerns over tightening supply after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July jumped $1.43 or 2 percent at $74.34 a barrel.
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