(RTTNews) – The Thai stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 40 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,515-point plateau and it’s likely to extend its gains again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, riding solely on the strength of technology companies. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.
The SET finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the food, industrial, property, services and technology sectors.
For the day, the index jumped 25.61 points or 1.72 percent to finish at 1,516.01 after trading between 1,502.67 and 1,522.70. Volume was 12.336 billion shares worth 95.599 billion baht. There were 265 gainers and 222 decliners, with 182 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info and Banpu both rallied 2.54 percent, while Thailand Airport soared 1.91 percent, Asset World increased 0.79 percent, Bangkok Bank retreated 1.43 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.47 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 1.71 percent, B. Grimm declined 1.29 percent, BTS Group advanced 1.65 percent, CP All Public jumped 1.97 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods expanded 1.44 percent, Energy Absolute sank 0.65 percent, Gulf shed 0.40 percent, Kasikornbank tanked 2.24 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 0.75 percent, Krung Thai Card improved 0.76 percent, PTT Oil & Retail lost 0.73 percent, PTT vaulted 1.36 percent, PTT Exploration and Production slid 0.37 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 5.61 percent, SCG Packaging added 0.47 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.34 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 2.70 percent, Thai Oil stumbled 1.81 percent and True Corporation and TTB Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending at session highs.
The Dow climbed 307.65 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,482.15, while the NASDAQ jumped 288.40 points or 1.26 percent to close at 23,152.08 and the S&P 500 gained 56.06 points or 0.81 percent to end at 6,946.13.
The strength on Wall Street reflected optimism ahead of the release of earnings news from AI chipmaker and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) after the close of Wednesday’s trade. The company’s earnings came in at $42.960 billion, or $1.76 per share compared to $22.091 billion, or $0.89 per share, last year.
Software stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index spiking by 3.1 percent. The index continued to regain ground after slumping to its lowest closing level in ten months on Monday amid easing AI disruption concerns.
The price of crude oil ticked lower on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported a substantial rebound by U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slipped $0.15 or 0.2 percent to $65.48 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will see January results for industrial production later today; in December, output rose 2.52 percent on year.
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