The Thai stock market has closed higher now in eight straight sessions, surging almost 60 points or 4.7 percent in that span. The Stock Exchange of Thailand ended just above the 1,330-point plateau, and now investors are expected to cash in their chips when the market opens on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to disappointing economic data from the United States, as well as ongoing concerns about the looming U.S. fiscal cliff. The Institute for Supply Management said that U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a three-year low in November. And in Washington, lawmakers continue to struggle to reach an agreement to avoid the automatic tax increases and spending cuts currently due to go into effect at the end of the year. The European markets were higher and the U.S. bourses were down, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished modestly higher again on Monday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index climbed 8.88 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 1,332.92 after trading between 1,326.95 and 1,333.64. Volume was 5.662 billion shares worth 34.141 billion baht. There were 338 gainers and 229 decliners, with 180 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, energy giant PTT was up 1.56 percent, while PTT Exploration and Production added 0.31 percent, PTT Global Chemicals collected 0.38 percent, coal miner Banpu shed 0.76 percent, Siam Concrete jumped 1.01 percent, Thai Airways lost 0.91 percent, Bangkok Bank was flat, Kasikornbank gained 0.27 percent and Siam Commercial Bank spiked 1.23 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks moved lower on Monday after failing to sustain an early upward move. The downturn by the markets was partly due to the release of a disappointing report on U.S. manufacturing activity.
The initial strength followed positive manufacturing data out of China, with the data generating optimism about the outlook for the global economy. China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that its purchasing managers' index rose to 50.6 in November from 50.2 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the Chinese manufacturing sector.
Buying interest waned not long after the open, however, as traders continued to express uncertainty about the looming U.S. fiscal cliff.
The subsequent pullback followed a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an unexpected contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity in November. The ISM's purchasing managers index fell to 49.5 in November from 51.7 in October, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. The drop pulled the index down to its lowest level in over three years.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Commerce Department showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. construction spending in October helped to limit the downside for the markets.
The major U.S. averages were down on Monday as the Dow dipped 59.98 points or 0.5 percent to finish at 12,965.60, while the NASDAQ edged down 8.04 points or 0.3 percent to close at 3,002.20 and the S&P 500 fell 6.72 points or 0.5 percent to end at 1,409.46.
In economic news, Thailand's consumer price inflation fell to 2.74 percent in November from 3.32 percent in October, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday. Economists had forecast a rate of 3.2 percent. Month-on-month, consumer prices dropped 0.35 percent in November.
Core inflation that excludes energy and food prices came in at 1.85 percent, up from 1.83 percent in October. The rate was forecast to rise to 1.9 percent.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com