The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just shy of the 1,485-point plateau, and the market may extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic after generally heavy Greek-related selling in the previous three sessions. A rebound in the price of crude oil may provide a boost, and some of the regional bourses are ripe for bargain hunting. The European markets were down and the U.S. markets were up, and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index added 10.54 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 1,483.77 after trading between 1,475.88 and 1,484.90. Volume was 7.733 billion shares worth 33.377 billion baht. There were 518 gainers and 299 decliners, with 264 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, coal miner Banpu was unchanged, while Bangkok Bank jumped 1.16 percent, Kasikornbank climbed 1.68 percent, energy giant PTT added 0.58 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 0.47 percent, PTT Global Chemical tumbled 1.84 percent, Siam Commercial Bank collected 1.00 percent and Siam Concrete was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks fell sharply in early trade Tuesday but rebounded to finish higher.
The Dow ended the day up 93.33 points or 0.5 percent to 17,776.91, while the S&P 500 climbed 12.58 points or 0.6 percent to 2,081.34 and the NASDAQ edged up 5.52 points or 0.1 percent to 4,997.46.
Concerns about the ongoing Greek debt crisis contributed to the early weakness, although selling pressure eventually waned due in part to optimism a deal could still be reached.
The Greek people voted on Sunday to reject the austerity measures proposed by the country's creditors, but negotiators are expected to make a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement over the coming days.
The turnaround by stocks also came amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, which helped to lift energy stocks well off their lows.
Crude for August delivery still ended the day down $0.20 at $52.33 a barrel, although it was well off its low of $50.58 a barrel. The price of oil also saw continued upside in electronic trading.
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