The Thai stock market bounced right back into positive territory again on Friday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 20 points or 1.9 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand settled just above the 1,210-point plateau, and now traders are expecting more support when the market opens on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive following positive earnings news from the United States. Financial giant JP Morgan reported better than expected second quarter earnings despite a massive trading loss. In addition, Wells Fargo reported second quarter earnings that rose year-over-year and came in above analyst estimates. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly higher, and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index surged 17.16 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 1,210.29 after trading between 1,194.48 and 1,212.66. Volume was 3.267 billion shares worth 24.904 billion baht. There were 382 gainers and 126 decliners, with 141 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the gainers, energy giant PTT was up 1.52 percent, while Bangkok Bank jumped 1.82 percent, Siam Commercial Bank spiked 3.32 percent and Kasikornbank collected 1.54 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks showed a strong move to the upside on Friday after trending lower in the previous six sessions. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to Chinese economic data as well as JP Morgan's (JPM) quarterly results.
China reported that GDP increased at its slowest annual rate in over three years, although it was not as slow as some had feared. The report also showed that Chinese GDP increased by 1.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, exceeding forecasts.
Traders also reacted positively to quarterly results from financial giant JP Morgan, which reported better than expected second quarter earnings despite a massive trading loss. JP Morgan said that the trading loss grew to $4.4 billion from its initial estimate of $2 billion but noted that its Chief Investment Office will no longer trade a synthetic credit portfolio. Shares of JP Morgan rose by 6 percent on the news.
Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) also moved notably higher after the company reported second quarter earnings that rose year-over-year and came in above analyst estimates. Wells Fargo climbed 3.2 percent.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan that unexpectedly showed a continued deterioration in consumer sentiment in July. The consumer sentiment index fell to 72.0 in July from the final June reading of 73.2, while economists had expected the index to edge up to 73.5.
The Labor Department also reported before the start of trading that U.S. producer prices unexpectedly rebounded in the month of June.
The major averages saw continued strength going into the close, ending the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow jumped 203.82 points or 1.6 percent to finish at 12,777.09, while the NASDAQ surged 42.28 points or 1.5 percent to end at 2,908.47 and the S&P 500 soared 22.02 points or 1.7 percent to 1,356.78.
With the day's strong gains, the major averages turned in a mixed performance for the week. While the NASDAQ still fell 1 percent for the week, the S&P 500 rose by 0.2 percent and the Dow edged up by less than 0.1 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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