The Thai stock market experienced declines for two consecutive sessions, dropping over 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now hovers just above the 1,455-point mark and is expected to find support on Friday.
The global outlook for Asian markets remains positive, driven by continued optimism regarding interest rates. European and U.S. markets witnessed gains, and Asian markets are likely to follow, although there might be some profit-taking later in the day.
On Thursday, the SET closed modestly lower, with losses seen across the industrial, property, resource, and service sectors.
For the day, the index fell by 6.55 points or 0.45 percent, closing at 1,455.03, after fluctuating between 1,449.68 and 1,464.81. The trading volume was 14.594 billion shares, valued at 56.090 billion baht. Out of the active stocks, there were 386 decliners, 127 gainers, and 147 stocks that remained unchanged.
Key movements among active stocks include Advanced Info dropping 0.38 percent, while Thailand Airport rose 0.40 percent. Asset World decreased by 0.53 percent, Banpu slipped 2.13 percent, and Bangkok Bank fell 0.65 percent. Bangkok Dusit Medical saw a decline of 1.61 percent, while B. Grimm dipped 0.42 percent. BTS Group fell by 1.75 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods increased by 1.25 percent, and Energy Absolute plunged 4.55 percent. Gulf was down by 0.87 percent, Kasikornbank dropped 1.28 percent, but Krung Thai Bank rose by 0.49 percent. Krung Thai Card surged 2.67 percent, PTT Oil & Retail saw an increase of 2.33 percent, while PTT Exploration and Production and PTT Global Chemical fell by 1.79 percent and 2.36 percent, respectively. SCG Packaging plummeted 5.47 percent, Siam Concrete dropped 3.25 percent, Thai Oil decreased 1.45 percent, and TTB Bank slid by 1.02 percent. Siam Commercial Bank, True Corporation, PTT, CP All Public, and Bangkok Expressway remained unchanged.
The sentiment from Wall Street is positive, as major averages opened higher on Thursday and maintained a positive trend throughout the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 260.36 points or 0.62 percent to 42,175.11. The NASDAQ Composite advanced 108.09 points or 0.60 percent to 18,190.29, and the S&P 500 rose by 23.11 points or 0.40 percent to 5,745.37.
The early rally on Wall Street was largely attributed to strength in the tech sector, particularly chipmaker Micron (MU), which soared after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and offering robust fiscal revenue guidance.
Additionally, stocks were buoyed by optimistic U.S. economic data. The Labor Department reported that first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly dipped last week. The Commerce Department also indicated that new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods remained virtually unchanged in August.
On the commodities front, oil prices dropped sharply on Thursday due to concerns about oversupply following reports that OPEC will reintroduce 2.2 million barrels per day of production cuts into the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November fell by $2.02 or 2.9 percent, settling at $67.67 a barrel.
