The Thai stock market has finished higher in back-to-back trading days, collecting almost 8 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,215-point plateau although the rally may stall on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over a new wave of the coronavirus and doubts about a new stimulus package to deal with it. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index added 5.81 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 1,216.48 after trading between 1,211.85 and 1,222.62. Volume was 19.437 billion shares worth 54.423 billion baht. There were 700 decliners and 686 gainers, with 471 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.29 percent, while Thailand Airport climbed 1.38 percent, Asset World tanked 2.58 percent, Bangkok Bank soared 4.09 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical skidded 1.10 percent, Bangkok Expressway added 0.61 percent, BTS Group gained 0.55 percent, Kasikornbank spiked 3.41 percent, Krung Thai Bank rallied 2.35 percent, PTT Exploration and Production accelerated 2.89 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.27 percent, Siam Commercial Bank skyrocketed 6.12 percent, Siam Concrete rose 0.59 percent, TMB Bank surged 2.47 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks showed a lack of direction on Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finally finishing in the red.
The Dow shed 97.97 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 28,210.82, while the NASDAQ lost 31.80 points or 0.28 percent to end at 11,484.69 and the S&P 500 slid 7.56 points or 0.22 percent to close at 3,435.56.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on the latest developments in Washington, as lawmakers try to reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill.
However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed on Tuesday that he has warned the White House not to make a deal before the elections.
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard urged Congress to pass a new relief bill in a speech at an online conference hosted by the Society of Professional Economists.
Crude oil prices tumbled Wednesday, weighed by concerns over a drop in energy demand following a smaller than expected drop in oil stockpiles and an increase in gasoline inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December were down $1.67 or 4 percent at $40.03 a barrel.
Closer to home, Thailand will release September numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In August, imports were down 19.68 percent on year and exports fell an annual 7.94 percent for a trade surplus of $4.35 billion.
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