BANGKOK: The Thai stock market in Friday wrote a finish to the five-day losing streak in which it had surrendered almost 20 points or 1.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,580-point plateau, and the market may see further upside on Monday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive following solid U.S. employment data, and increase in crude oil prices and an expected rollback in financial regulatory rules. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The SET finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and the energy producers. Among the actives, Bangkok Bank spiked 1.71 percent, while Bangkok Expressway advanced 2.14 percent, coal miner Banpu was unchanged, Kasikornbank collected 0.79 percent, Krung Thai Bank gained 0.53 percent, PTT climbed 1.49 percent, PTT Exploration and Production picked up 0.26 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 2.63 percent, Siam Commercial Bank jumped 1.32 percent and Siam Concrete gathered 1.17 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved higher on Friday after being stuck in neutral for the previous few sessions. The Dow added 186.55 points or 0.9 percent to 20,071.46, while the NASDAQ climbed 30.57 points or 0.5 percent to 5,666.77 and the S&P gained 16.57 points or 0.7 percent to 2,297.42. For the week, the Dow fell 0.1 percent, and the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both added 0.1 percent. The strength followed a Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in January but a slowdown in wage growth. The data offers a positive picture for the economy while also allowing the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged. Traders also reacted to news of President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back financial regulations. Trump signed two executive orders on regulations, including an order calling for a review of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Crude oil futures were higher Friday amid mounting tensions between the U.S. and Iran. March U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 29 cents higher at $53.83 a barrel – up about 1 percent for the week.
