On Wednesday, the Thai stock market managed to break its seven-day losing streak in which it fell nearly 45 points or 3.1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now stands just above the 1,370-point mark, and it's expected to see further growth in Thursday's trading.
Optimism over the future of interest rates results in a mild upside prediction for Asian markets. This follows the trend of European and U.S. markets, which have experienced increases.
On Wednesday, the SET saw a modest rise driven by profits achieved by the food, industrial, property, resource, services, and technology sectors. The index gained 11.29 points or 0.83 percent, closing at 1,370.55, after fluctuating between 1,35610 and 1,375.82. Trading volume was 18.049 billion shares worth 41.059 billion baht. Overall, there were 335 winners and 164 losers, with 158 stocks remaining unchanged.
Active contributors to the rise included Thailand Airport with an increase of 0.78 percent and Asset World up by 1.07 percent. Banpu saw a significant 4.72 percent surge, whereas Bangkok Bank dropped by 0.35 percent. A variety of companies, including Bangkok Dusit Medical (up 3.54 percent) and Charoen Pokphand Foods (up 2.79 percent), also contributed to this upward trend.
The positive outlook from Wall Street influenced this outcome, due to its major indices performing well after an early fade and late rally.
Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell explained the rebound on Wall Street as a result of a possible reduction in interest rates later in the year. Powell stated this change is pending evidence of inflation moving sustainably towards two percent.
In other news, ADP's economic report showed a smaller than expected increase in private sector employment in U.S. in February. Furthermore, crude oil futures finished higher on Wednesday due to a notable decrease in gasoline and distillate stockpiles. This led the West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April to surge by $0.98 or 1.25 percent, ending at $79.13 a barrel.
