FX.co ★ Soft Start Predicted For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has been on an upward trend for three consecutive trading sessions, registering almost a 2.3 percent increase, equivalent to 30 points. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) currently stands just over the 1,360-point mark, but there might be a selloff on Thursday as investors may decide to take profit.

The global market outlook suggests little change for the Asian markets due to concerns over interest rate projections. European markets were slightly down, while the American markets showed mixed and stagnant behavior, so it's expected that the Asian markets will follow suit.

On Wednesday, the SET ended slightly up, with increases from the food, service, and technology sectors being offset by downturns in the industrial and property sectors. For the day, the index moved up 0.27 percent, or 3.64 points, to close at 1,361.10, with a trading range between 1,355.44 and 1,364.91. The trading volume was 11.451 billion shares, for a total of 38.553 billion baht. The decliners outnumbers the gainers, with 239 shares dropping, 203 gaining, and 211 remaining unchanged.

Key movers included Advanced Info which dropped 1.26 percent, Thai Airport which dropped 0.38 percent, and Banpu which dropped 0.91 percent. However, certain sectors saw gains, with Bangkok Dusit Medical up by 0.89 percent and BTS Group up by 0.81 percent. Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Gulf remained unchanged.

In Wall Street, the major averages opened mixed and ended similarly, providing little guidance. The Dow Jones shed 0.11 percent or 42.77 points to close at 38,460.92, while the NASDAQ gained 0.10 percent or 16.11 points to close at 15,712.75. The S&P 500 increased marginally by 0.02 percent or 1.08 points to end at 5,071.63.

Positive responses to recent corporate earnings announcements, from companies such as Tesla, Texas Instruments, Visa, and Mattel, curbed the downside on Wall Street. However, interest waned as traders remain concerned about interest rate prospects before the Federal Reserve meeting next week. Although it's likely that rates will remain unchanged, traders will be monitoring for any signs of possible future rate reductions.

Oil prices decreased on Wednesday due to concerns about demand prospects and easing tensions in the Middle East, resulting in the West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June falling by 55 cents to end at $82.81 a barrel.