Prior to the Chakri Memorial Day holiday on Monday, Thailand's stock market made a comeback, putting an end to a three-day losing streak where it experienced a subtle drop of approximately 0.4%, almost six points. Currently, The Stock Exchange of Thailand is floating marginally above the 1,375-point mark and it is anticipated to maintain its state of balance on Tuesday.
Worldwide market predictions for Asian markets vary, with some anticipating a growth, hence defining a mixed to an upbeat view pending vital data insights this week. European markets exhibited an upswing, whereas markets in the U.S presented a mixed bag with a flat performance leaning towards neutrality; Asian markets are expected to bridge these differences.
On Friday, the deviation in the SET was just a notch above, as progress in the financial, real estate, resources, services, and technology sectors counterbalanced the slump experienced in the food, consumer goods, and industrial sectors.
As per the day's performance, the index perked 0.12%, an equivalent of 1.69 points, to conclude at 1,375.58, with trade volumes swinging between 1,367.59 and 1,377.86. The market witnessed a traded volume of 11.079 billion shares valued at 26.897 billion baht. The decliners and gainers numbered 232 and 199 respectively, with 221 stocks ending in stalemate.
Discussing the active players, Advanced Info showed a 0.49% gain, while Asset World registered a 0.48% decline. Banpu experienced a sharp fall of 2.70%. Bangkok Bank actually boosted 0.73%, while Bangkok Expressway dropped 0.61%. B Grimm saw an improvement of 0.91% whereas BTS Group skyrocketed by 4.27%. CP All Public and Siam Commercial Bank both showed progress with 0.90% each. Charoen Pokphand Foods escalated by 1.12%, while Gulf went down by 0.58%. Kasikornbank toughened by 1.22%, notwithstanding PTT Exploration and Production climbing by 0.95%. PTT Global Chemical, however, declined by 0.63%. SCG Packaging depreciated by 0.83% while Siam Concrete managed to upturn by 0.40%. True Corporation surged by 2.56% however, TTB Bank slipped by 1.12%. Krung Thai Bank, Krung Thai Card, Energy Absolute, PTT Oil & Retail, PTT, Thai Oil, Bangkok Dusit Medical, and Thailand Airport ended the day unaltered.
The Wall Street offered little help in terms of direction, with major averages demonstrating high volatility on Monday, eventually resulting in little change. The Dow suffered a slight decrease of 0.03% or 11.24 points, closing at 38,892.80. NASDAQ grew by 0.03% or 5.43 points, concluding at 16,253.80. The S&P 500 retreated slightly, by 0.04% or 1.95 points, to cease at 5,202.39.
The wavering trading activities of the day imply the traders' reluctance in making significant moves prior to the unveiling of the highly significant inflation data later in the week.
The forthcoming inflation data could considerably affect interest rates forecast since Federal Reserve officials have consistently communicated their need to have more confidence in slowing inflation trends before implementing rate cuts.
Wednesday will also witness the release of the minutes from the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, providing more insights into officials' perspectives on interest rates.
Oil prices took a mild hit on Monday as geopolitical tensions gradually sank after Israel withdrew its troops from Southern Gaza. The futures of West Texas Intermediate Crude oil for May ended lower by $0.48 or 0.55%, settling at $86.43 per barrel.
