FX.co ★ Thai Stock Market May Hand Back Friday's Gains

The Thai stock market saw an upswing on Friday, reversing the previous session's downturn which ended a two-day winning streak where it had gained over 7 points, or 0.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is currently positioned just above the 1,300-point mark, but indications suggest a potential decline on Monday.

The global outlook for Asian markets remains weak, with oil and technology stocks expected to exert downward pressure. While European markets experienced a decline, U.S. markets showed a mixed and flat trajectory, which is likely to influence Asian markets in a similar manner.

On Friday, the SET closed modestly higher thanks to gains in sectors such as food, consumer goods, finance, industrials, property, and resources, although technology shares showed some softness.

The index rose by 8.12 points or 0.63 percent to close at 1,306.41, fluctuating between 1,289.21 and 1,311.31 throughout the day. Trading volume was robust with 16.318 billion shares worth 56.556 billion baht. The market showed a positive breadth with 432 gainers and 89 decliners, while 134 stocks remained unchanged.

In active trades, Thailand Airport declined by 0.82 percent, while Asset World surged by 1.69 percent. Banpu and Bangkok Bank increased by 1.00 percent and 1.54 percent respectively. Bangkok Dusit Medical fell by 0.96 percent. B. Grimm saw a significant rise of 3.37 percent, and BTS Group gained 1.33 percent. CP All Public and Charoen Pokphand Foods rose by 0.46 percent and 0.45 percent respectively. Energy Absolute surged by 3.41 percent, and Gulf rallied by 3.21 percent. Kasikornbank added 0.40 percent, while Krung Thai Card plummeted by 2.91 percent. PTT Oil & Retail improved by 1.25 percent, though PTT dropped by 0.78 percent. PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.66 percent, and PTT Global Chemical jumped by 4.24 percent. SCG Packaging dipped by 0.74 percent, while Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Concrete advanced by 0.47 percent and 0.90 percent respectively. Thai Oil fell by 0.95 percent, True Corporation decreased by 1.73 percent, and TTB Bank accelerated by 2.44 percent. Krung Thai Bank, Advanced Info, and Bangkok Expressway remained unchanged.

Wall Street's lead was tepid, with major averages opening lower on Friday and ending mixed with minimal change.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 15.53 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 39,150.33. The NASDAQ decreased by 32.24 points or 0.18 percent to close at 17,689.36, and the S&P 500 dipped 8.55 points or 0.16 percent to settle at 5,464.62.

For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow surged by 1.5 percent, and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ was nearly unchanged.

The erratic trading session on Wall Street was attributed to traders evaluating recent market movements, with the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 hitting new intraday highs before reversing.

Attention was also on Nvidia (NVDA), as the AI sector leader has recently been a significant market driver. Nvidia's stock fell by 3.2 percent on Friday after briefly surpassing Microsoft (MSFT) as the world's most valuable public company.

Economically, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in the U.S. fell roughly in line with estimates for May. Also, the Conference Board indicated that leading U.S. economic indicators declined more than anticipated last month.

Oil futures ended lower on Friday due to concerns about global oil demand and the strength of the U.S. dollar. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery decreased by $0.56 or 0.7 percent to settle at $80.73 a barrel, although it gained 3 percent over the week.