After suffering a four-day losing streak, during which it plunged nearly 80 points or 5.7 percent, the Thai stock market made a positive turn on Monday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is now hovering just below the 1,350-point mark, and is predicted to gain further support on Tuesday. This forecast is attributed to an optimistic global outlook for Asian markets, particularly in the technology sector that saw substantial losses last week. Following the upward trend of European and U.S. markets, Asian stocks are expected to experience a resurgence.
Monday saw the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) soar, with noticeable gains observed across all sectors, most notably food, finance, and service. The index leapt 17.44 points or 1.31 percent to conclude at 1,349.52 after trading between 1,339.92 and 1,350.94. Volume accounted for approximately 13.951 billion shares worth 43.139 billion baht. Out of all traded stocks, 413 saw gains and 104 reported losses, while 139 remained unchanged.
Some noticeable movers include Advanced Info which increased by 1.02 percent, Thailand Airport which surged by 3.17 percent, and Asset World which spiked by 4.69 percent. Shareholders of Energy Absolute witnessed a leap of 4.96 percent, and Gulf advanced by 3.80 percent. Conversely, True Corporation slipped by 1.92 percent, TTB Bank declined by 0.56 percent, while shares of Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Card and Thai Oil remained static.
On Wall Street, major averages trended positively, starting strong on Monday and maintaining this momentum throughout the trading day. The Dow Jones concluded its day with a rally of 253.58 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 38,239.98, while the NASDAQ surged by 169.30 points or 1.11 percent to close at 15,451.31. Additionally, the S&P 500 gained 43.37 points or 0.87 percent ending at 5,010.60.
The surge in Wall Street appears to be driven by a deescalation of tension in the Middle East, following 'measured' retaliations between Iran and Israel, which were designed to avoid casualties. Investors capitalized on this positive momentum by acquiring undervalued stocks, in anticipation of the upcoming release of various U.S. economic reports, including data on new home sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.
Several high-profile companies are also set to release their quarterly results this week, including Tesla, Boeing, IBM, Caterpillar, Honeywell, Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil.
Meanwhile, oil prices showed a decline on Monday, owing to concerns surrounding the future of global oil demand— a sentiment compounded by recent data indicating a significant increase in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May dipped $0.29 or 0.34 percent, settling at $82.85 a barrel.
