The Thai stock market on Wednesday halted the two-day slide in which it had retreated more than 40 points or 3.8 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand finished just above the 1,115-point plateau, and now traders are looking for the market to extend its gains when it opens on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive following fairly upbeat news out of Europe. The European Central Bank maintained its key interest rates, keeping the main refi rate at 1 percent, while the European Commission also unveiled plans to avert massive banking failures in future. Adding to the positive sentiment are comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart, who said that the option of extending "Operation Twist" is still on the table. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
The SET finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the energy producers, cement stocks and financial shares.
For the day, the index spiked 18.80 points or 1.71 percent to finish at 1,117.95 after trading between 1,110.24 and 1,123.44. Volume was 4.290 billion shares worth 23.416 billion baht. There were 387 gainers and 139 decliners, with 119 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the gainers, energy giant PTT was up 1.65 percent, while PTT Global Chemicals jumped 2.82 percent, Siam Concrete climbed 1.53 percent, Bangkok Bank gathered 1.18 percent, Kasikornbank collected 1.39 percent and Siam Commercial Bank spiked 2.27 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved sharply higher on Wednesday, with traders expressing optimism about further stimulus from the world's central banks. The markets extended Tuesday's upward move, recovering further from the sell-off seen in recent weeks.
Much of the rally stemmed from the optimism about further stimulus following the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate cut on Tuesday - even as the European Central Bank announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged following its monetary policy meeting.
Traders were also initially disappointed by ECB President Mario Draghi's remarks at a subsequent press conference, as they did not seem to indicate that the ECB was planning on providing further stimulus. However, Draghi later told reporters that the central bank stands "ready to act" if the economic situation continues to worsen.
Positive sentiment was also generated by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart, who said that extending "Operation Twist" remains a possibility. San Francisco Fed President John Williams also called it crucial that the central bank maintains in highly stimulatory monetary policy stance.
Stocks saw continued strength following the release of the Fed's Beige Book report, which said overall economic activity expanded at a moderate pace from early April to late May. While the Beige Book also said the economic outlooks remain positive, the Fed noted that contacts were slightly more guarded in their optimism.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session at their best levels of the day as the Dow jumped 286.84 points or 2.4 percent to finish at 12,414.79, while the NASDAQ surged 66.61 points or 2.4 percent to end at 2,844.72 and the S&P 500 soared 29.63 points or 2.3 percent to 1,315.13.
by RTT Staff Writer
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