The Thai stock market, after experiencing a two-day upward trend resulting in a 2.1% gain, saw a reversal on Friday, closing just shy of the 1,490 mark. Nonetheless, there is an expectation for a rebound at the start of next week. Globally, the Asian markets are poised for positive movement, buoyed by optimistic earnings reports, while the European and American markets exhibited mixed and upward trends, respectively.
On Friday, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) saw a modest decline due to losses in the finance, industrial, resource, and technology sectors. Specifically, the index dropped by 5.20 points, or 0.35%, closing at 1,489.82, with trading oscillating between 1,488.61 and 1,506.82. The trading session saw a volume of 27.006 billion shares valued at 64.683 billion baht, with 349 stocks declining, 127 advancing, and 183 remaining unchanged.
Key movements included Advanced Info's 5.05% decline, Thailand Airport's 0.79% rise, and Asset World's 0.53% fall. Banpu decreased by 0.78%, while Bangkok Bank dropped 1.28%. Other notable changes included Bangkok Dusit Medical's 0.85% fall, Bangkok Expressway's 1.20% drop, and CP All Public's 2.66% rally. Shares of Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.98%, while Energy Absolute and Gulf experienced declines of 2.33% and 1.80%, respectively.
The Wall Street influence was positive, with major indexes opening mixed but closing near session highs. The Dow surged by 36.86 points, reaching a record 43,275.91, while the NASDAQ increased by 115.94 points, ending at 18,489.55, and the S&P 500 went up by 23.20 points, closing at 5,864.67. Over the week, the Dow gained 1.0%, the S&P 0.9%, and the NASDAQ 0.8%.
The NASDAQ's rise was significantly influenced by Netflix, whose shares soared 11.1% following better-than-expected Q3 results. Conversely, a 3.2% slump in American Express shares slightly restrained the Dow, despite the company's earnings surpassing expectations, due to disappointing revenue figures.
In U.S. economic developments, the Commerce Department noted a slight decline in housing starts and building permits for September. Oil prices declined on Friday, following reductions in demand forecasts by OPEC and the International Energy Agency. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November fell by $1.45, or 2.05%, to settle at $69.22 a barrel, marking an over 8% decrease for the week.
