(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday snapped the brutal two-day slide in which it had plummeted almost 85 points or 5.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,425-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with coronavirus concerns offset by vaccine optimism. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished sharply higher in a technical rebound on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index spiked 22.61 points or 1.61 percent to finish at 1,424.39 after trading between 1,388.23 and 1.428.11. Volume was 27.939 billion shares worth 87.824 billion baht. There were 998 gainers and 669 decliners, with 369 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info added 0.56 percent, while Asset World surged 6.96 percent, Bangkok Bank climbed 1.69 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical rose 0.49 percent, Bangkok Expressway shed 0.59 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods advanced 0.97 percent, Gulf gathered 2.26 percent, IRPC rallied 3.31 percent, Kasikornbank spiked 4.55 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 1.83 percent, PTT perked 1.85 percent, PTT Exploration and Production gained 1.56 percent, PTT Global Chemical accelerated 4.02 percent, Siam Commercial Bank jumped 2.98 percent, Siam Concrete increased 0.54 percent, TMB Bank soared 6.54 percent and Thailand Airport and BTS Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow and S&P both opened lower and largely stayed that way, while the NASDAQ opened higher and was mostly in the green throughout the session.
The Dow shed 200.94 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,015.51, while the NASDAQ climbed 65.40 points or 0.51 percent to end at 12,807.92 and the S&P 500 fell 7.66 points or 0.21 percent to close at 3,687.26.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following the recent run to record highs.
Reports about a new coronavirus strain have generated some negative sentiment, although news of the approval of a new stimulus bill has helped prop up the markets.
In economic news, the Commerce Department released revised data showing the U.S. economy grew slightly more than estimated in Q3 of 2020. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales pulled back in November.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Tuesday amid rising worries about energy demand due to new restrictions on travel following a surge in coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.95 or 2 percent at $47.02 a barrel.
Closer to home, the central bank in Thailand will wrap up its monetary policy meeting later today and then announce its decision on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.5 percent.
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