FX.co ★ Thai Stock Market Expected To Open In The Green

The Thai stock market witnessed a slight gain on Thursday after an interrupted two-day positive streak. Currently, The Stock Exchange of Thailand edges slightly over the 1,385-point mark with hopes of additional support come Friday.

The global outlook for Asian markets seems promising, particularly given the hint of a potential interest rate cut in June spurred by weaker U.S. economic data. Benefiting from this situation, European and U.S. markets showed positivity, and Asian markets are projected to follow suit.

The SET index displayed minimal growth on Thursday mainly due to the food, service and technology sectors' performance being offset by the retreating resource, finance and property industries.

The day concluded with the index climbing 2.16 points or 0.16 percent to close at 1,387.27, trading between 1,383.66 and 1,302.46. Stocks worth 42.060 billion baht were traded, numbering 15.019 billion shares. Meanwhile, 255 stocks declined and 211 gained, leaving 186 stocks unchanged.

Active stocks showed varied results. For instance, Advanced Info took a 1.41 percent hit, whereas Thailand Airport increased by 0.40 percent. Likewise, Asset World, PTT Exploration and Production, and Siam Commercial Bank all dipped by 0.98 percent. Simultaneously, Banpu rose by 0.85 percent.

Wall Street painted a cheerful picture as most major averages climbed steadily throughout the day, all ending on a positive note.

The Dow showed significant growth, jumping 348.85 points or 0.91 percent to close at 38,773.12. Additionally, the NASDAQ added 47.03 points or 0.30 percent to end at 15,906.17, and the S&P 500 rose 29.11 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 5,029.73.

The boost in Wall Street was largely due to a Commerce Department report showing a significantly larger-than-anticipated decrease in U.S. retail sales in January, fueling renewed optimism about interest rates' outlook.

In addition, the Federal Reserve reported a slight unexpected drop in U.S. industrial production for January.

Finally, crude oil futures ended on a high note on Thursday with the dollar weakening following the disappointing retail sales data. This raised hopes of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in June. Consequently, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rallied $1.39 or 1.8 percent, ending at $78.03 a barrel.