The Thai stock market has experienced a modest uptick over the past three sessions, adding approximately 7 points or 0.5 percent in total. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is now positioned just above the 1,375-point mark and may continue its upward trend on Wednesday.
Globally, the forecast for Asian markets remains cautiously optimistic, with hopeful signs regarding the future of interest rates. While European markets ended mixed and flat, U.S. markets saw gains, which suggests that Asian markets might follow suit.
On Tuesday, the SET closed slightly higher, driven by gains in the food, resource, service, and technology sectors. However, the financial and industrial sectors did not perform as well. Specifically, the index climbed 4.07 points or 0.30 percent to close at 1,376.57, fluctuating between 1,372.77 and 1,380.45 throughout the day. Trading volume reached 14.588 billion shares, amounting to 42.896 billion baht.
In market specifics, Airport of Thailand increased by 0.37 percent, Asset World advanced 0.94 percent, and B. Grimm rose 0.95 percent. Additionally, Bangkok Dusit Medical gained 0.85 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods surged 6.80 percent, and Energy Absolute increased by 4.81 percent. Conversely, BTS Group dropped 1.65 percent, SCP Packaging declined by 2.40 percent, and several companies such as Krung Thai Card, TTB Bank, True Corporation, and Advanced Info saw marginal losses or remained unchanged.
The positive lead from Wall Street should not be overlooked, as major averages remained steady for most of Tuesday before a late surge pushed them into positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 126.60 points or 0.32 percent to close at 39,558.11, the NASDAQ rallied by 122.94 points or 0.75 percent to end at 16,511.18, and the S&P 500 added 25.26 points or 0.48 percent to settle at 5,246.68.
The uptick on Wall Street occurred as treasury yields fell after an early rise, with the yield on the ten-year note reaching its lowest closing level in over a month. Initially, treasury yields climbed following a Labor Department report indicating a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. producer prices for April. However, some economists interpreted the downward revisions to the March data as a favorable indicator, tempering concerns about future interest rates.
Oil futures dipped on Tuesday as the same data stoked fears that the Federal Reserve might maintain higher interest rates for a prolonged period. Specifically, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June dropped $1.10, or about 1.4 percent, to settle at $78.02 per barrel.
Domestically, Thailand is set to release its Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) data today. In the previous quarter, GDP contracted by 0.6 percent on a quarterly basis but grew by 1.7 percent year-over-year.
