The Thai stock market broke a two-day dip on Friday where it had shed more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. Currently, the Stock Exchange of Thailand hovers slightly above the 1,370-point mark and could see a further rise on Monday.
Mixed global forecasts for the Asian markets indicate a potential minor rise, fueled by contradictory factors impacting interest rates. The European markets saw an increase, whereas the U.S. markets remained mixed and relatively stable, suggesting that the Asian markets could potentially fall in between.
On Friday, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) ended slightly higher, thanks to gains in sectors like food, finance, consumer and technology.
On that day, the index rose by 2.61 points or 0.19 percent closing at 1,371.90 after fluctuating between 1,365.92 and 1,372.32. Trading volume was 15.573 billion shares, valued at 36.380 billion baht. The market ended with 240 gainers, 229 decliners and 192 stocks seeing no change.
Active companies such as Thailand Airport, Asset World, and Bangkok Bank displayed robust performance, whereas others like Banpu, B. Grimm, and Energy Absolute saw a decline.
Latest trends from Wall Street show cautious optimism as the major averages opened higher on Friday but ended mixed and only slightly changed.
The Dow increased 125.08 points or 0.3 percent, closing at 39,512.84, while the NASDAQ dropped by 5.40 points or 0.1 percent to close at 16,340.87. The S&P 500 rose 8.60 points or 0.2 percent to end at 5,222.68.
The NASDAQ surged by 1.14 percent over the week, whereas the S&P 500 and the Dow grew by 1.85 percent and 2.16 percent, respectively.
The initial boost in Wall Street was partly due to renewed optimism about interest rate outlooks. Recent signals of a slightly weaker U.S. labor market spurred investor confidence that the Federal Reserve might decrease interest rates in upcoming months.
Despite this positive outlook, a report from the University of Michigan indicating a steep drop in U.S. consumer sentiment in May partially hampered this early buying interest. This report also highlighted a significant increase in inflation expectations over the year.
A hint of hesitation was observed in crude oil prices on Friday due to fears of the Federal Reserve maintaining higher interest rates for an extended period and uncertainty concerning oil demand in light of slow economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June declined by $1.00 trading at $78.26 per barrel.
