The Thai stock market has experienced fluctuations over the past four trading days, stabilizing after a two-day decline where it lost over 20 points or roughly 1.5 percent. Currently, the Stock Exchange of Thailand hovers just below the 1,390-point mark, with expectations of a modest upward trend at the opening on Thursday.
Globally, Asian markets anticipate a steady and undirected session, influenced by mixed signals regarding interest rate projections. Markets in Europe and the U.S. exhibited little change and no clear direction, which is expected to similarly affect Asian markets.
On Wednesday, the SET marginally decreased, impacted by downturns in the food, industrial, property, and service sectors. Specifically, the index shed 3.16 points, or 0.23 percent, closing at 1,387.72, within a trading range from 1,381.72 to 1,392.43. The day saw a trading volume of 8.036 billion shares valued at 35.418 billion baht. Market movement included 365 declining stocks, 123 advancing, and 179 remaining unchanged.
Key movers included Advanced Info, which rose 1.07 percent, whereas Thailand Airport fell 0.83 percent. Banpu decreased by 0.92 percent, Bangkok Bank gained 0.32 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical dropped 1.23 percent, Bangkok Expressway slumped by 1.41 percent, and B. Grimm declined 0.56 percent. BTS Group weakened by 1.67 percent, CP All Public slipped 0.44 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tumbled 1.76 percent, and Energy Absolute plunged 4.23 percent. Meanwhile, Gulf saw a 0.87 percent increase, Kasikornbank fell 0.31 percent, Krung Thai Card decreased 0.50 percent, and PTT Oil & Retail tanked 2.40 percent. PTT retreated 1.56 percent, but PTT Exploration and Production surged 2.45 percent. PTT Global Chemical fell 0.40 percent, SCG Packaging plummeted 3.66 percent, Siam Commercial Bank sank 0.83 percent, Siam Concrete decreased 3.02 percent, Thai Oil dropped 3.81 percent, True Corporation stumbled 1.77 percent, while TTB Bank rose 1.09 percent, and both Krung Thai Bank and Asset World remained unchanged.
Wall Street offered little in terms of momentum, with major indices opening slightly lower on Wednesday, fluctuating throughout the day, and ultimately ending with minor changes. This indecisive trading environment resulted from ambiguity around interest rate expectations, triggered by mixed job data from the U.S. Despite ADP's report indicating a significant slowdown in private sector job growth for December, the Labor Department reported a surprising drop in weekly jobless claims, reaching an 11-month low.
Furthermore, the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting minutes, released later in the day, provided limited insights into future interest rate strategies, only indicating a cautious approach to forthcoming decisions.
Oil futures also saw a decline on Wednesday, influenced by a notable rise in gasoline stockpiles and the strengthening dollar's impact on oil prices. February futures for West Texas Intermediate Crude ended down by $0.93, or 1.25 percent, closing at $73.32 per barrel.
