The Thai stock market has experienced a decline for two consecutive sessions, falling by over 10 points or 0.7 percent in total. Currently, the Stock Exchange of Thailand is positioned slightly above the 1,335-point mark and is anticipated to find support as trading resumes on Friday.
Globally, optimism prevails in the forecast for Asian markets, with anticipated boosts from sectors such as oil, gold, and technology stocks. Both European and U.S. markets closed positively on Thursday, encouraging expectations for a similar trend in Asian bourses.
On Thursday, the SET index recorded a modest decline, primarily impacted by downturns in the food, consumer, finance, and technology sectors, though property and industrial stocks provided some stability.
For the session, the index decreased by 7.55 points or 0.56 percent, closing at 1,335.54 after fluctuating between 1,333.27 and 1,345.76. The trading volume involved 7.107 billion shares with a market value of 29.582 billion baht. There were 248 stocks that declined, 180 that gained, and 228 that remained unchanged.
Active stocks performance included Advanced Info gaining 0.35 percent and Thailand Airport rising by 0.45 percent, while Banpu slipped 0.98 percent, and Bangkok Expressway fell 2.13 percent. B. Grimm dropped 1.28 percent, BTS Group declined 2.36 percent, whereas Charoen Pokphand Foods increased by 0.44 percent. Energy Absolute saw a significant rise of 3.92 percent, Gulf decreased by 0.42 percent, and Kasikornbank picked up 0.94 percent. Krung Thai Card plunged 1.93 percent, PTT Oil & Retail rose 0.85 percent, PTT Exploration and Production climbed 0.40 percent, and PTT Global Chemical was up by 0.46 percent. SCG Packaging surged 4.19 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 0.40 percent, while Siam Concrete increased by 1.95 percent. Thai Oil fell 0.95 percent, True Corporation advanced 0.85 percent, with TTB Bank down by 0.51 percent. Meanwhile, Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Asset World, PTT, CP All Public, and Bangkok Dusit Medical closed unchanged.
Wall Street presented a positive lead as all major indices opened stronger on Thursday, with intermittent declines but ultimately closing above previous levels.
The Dow climbed 168.61 points, representing a 0.38 percent increase, ending at 44,882.13. The NASDAQ rose by 49.43 points or 0.25 percent, closing at 19,681.75, while the S&P 500 gained 31.86 points or 0.53 percent, concluding at 6,071.17.
Towards the late session, major averages saw a significant drop after President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico starting February 1. Nonetheless, the indices recovered towards the close of the session amid substantial earnings-related volatility.
Results from companies such as IBM Corp. (IBM) and Meta Platforms (META) surpassed expectations, while Microsoft (MSFT) and UPS (UPS) delivered solid earnings but with less optimistic guidance.
Oil futures slightly rose on Thursday, reflecting a potential drop in supply linked to proposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, along with help from a softer dollar. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March increased by $0.11 or 0.15 percent, landing at $72.73 per barrel.
In Thailand, economic numbers scheduled for release later today include December's industrial production, current account, imports, exports, and trade balance. In November, industrial production decreased by 3.58 percent year-on-year, while the current account recorded a surplus of $2.00 billion. Imports increased by 2.3 percent annually, and exports grew by 9.1 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of $2.00 billion.
