Lower Open Predicted For Thai Stock Market

The Thai stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 25 points or 2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,345-point plateau although it figures to open in the red on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear, with technology stocks likely under pressure while oil, pharmaceutical and housing stocks offering support. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SET finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the finance, industrial, resource and technology sectors.

For the day, the index gained 10.43 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 1,346.54 after trading between 1,337.87 and 1,347.42. Volume was 8.052 billion shares worth 53.300 billion baht. There were 233 decliners and 207 gainers, with 221 stocks finishing unchanged.

Among the actives, Advanced Info soared 3.60 percent, while Thailand Airport gained 0.97 percent, Banpu advanced 0.93 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical and SCG Packaging both climbed 1.02 percent, B. Grimm sank 0.75 percent, BTS Group tumbled 1.82 percent, CP All Public added 0.56 percent, Gulf surged 3.66 percent, Kasikornbank collected 1.60 percent, Krung Thai Bank jumped 1.77 percent, PTT improved 0.72 percent, PTT Exploration and Production and PTT Global Chemical both rallied 2.46 percent, Siam Concrete strengthened 1.43 percent, Thai Oil skyrocketed 6.43 percent, True Corporation vaulted 1.68 percent, TTB Bank shed 0.50 percent and Charoen Pokphand Foods, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Krung Thai Card, Asset World, Energy Absolute, PTT Oil & Retail and Bangkok Expressway were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed but quickly diverged, finally finishing the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow rallied 260.31 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 49,501, while the NASDAQ tumbled 350.61 points or 1.51 percent to end at 22,904.58 and the S&P 500 sank 35.09 points or 0.51 percent to close at 6,882.72.

The advance by the Dow was fueled by stocks like Amgen (AMGN), 3M (MMM) and Nike (NKE), which saw better than expected quarterly results.

Meanwhile, traders continued to rotate out of the tech sector, dragging the NASDAQ lower as semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in January. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. service sector activity came in unchanged last month.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said inventories in the U.S. fell far more than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.97 or 3.12 percent at $65.18 per barrel.

Closer to home, Thailand will see January data for consumer prices later today; in December, overall inflation was down 0.28 percent on year and core CPI rose an annual 0.59 percent.