The Thai stock market turned higher again on Tuesday, one session after it had ended the four-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 20 points or 2.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand finished just above the 1,100-point plateau, and now analysts are forecasting additional support at the opening of trade on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests a mixed performance but little movement following reports that Greek officials have made progress on reaching an agreement to enact the reforms needed to receive a new bailout. The price of oil also is rising on continued concerns in Syria and the surrounding area. The European markets finished mixed but little changed and the U.S. bourses ended slightly higher - and the Asian markets are expected to split the difference.
The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index climbed 7.11 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 1,101.12 after trading between 1,092.77 and 1,102.33. Volume was 3.752 billion shares worth 30.401 billion baht. There were 241 gainers and 203 decliners, with 183 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, energy giant PYY was flat, while PTT Global Chemicals spiked 3.36 percent, coal miner Banpu climbed 0.98 percent, Siam Commercial Bank added 0.41 percent and Bangkok Bank collected 2.24 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks ended the day modestly higher on Tuesday after showing a notable move to the downside in early trading. Buying interest remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the upside for the markets.
The turnaround followed reports that Greek officials have made progress on reaching an agreement to enact the reforms needed to receive a new bailout. Indications that officials were struggling to reach an agreement, potentially putting Greece on track for a chaotic default, contributed to the initial weakness among stocks.
Traders also kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, although the Fed chief's prepared remarks were unchanged from last week's comments delivered before the House Budget Committee. In the question and answer session, Bernanke reiterated that easy monetary policy is still necessary to drive unemployment down from 8.3 percent in January.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve reported a much bigger than expected increase in consumer credit in the month of December, with the increase reflecting another jump in non-revolving credit such as car loans.
Among individual stocks, Yum! Brands (YUM) advanced by 2.6 percent after reporting fourth quarter earnings that rose year-over-year and came in just above analyst estimates. The company, which owns the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast-food chains, also said it is well-positioned to meet or exceed its annual target of at least 10 percent earnings growth in 2012.
Beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) also ended the day higher after reporting fourth quarter earnings that fell sharply year-over-year but came in above analyst estimates. The company's year-ago results included a gain related to the acquisition of its North American bottling operations.
While the NASDAQ briefly dipped into the red in late day trading, the major averages all closed in positive territory. The Dow rose 33.07 points or 0.3 percent to finish at 12,878.20, while the NASDAQ edged up 2.09 points or 0.1 percent to 2,904.08 and the S&P 500 climbed 2.72 points or 0.2 percent to 1,347.05.
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