(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long holiday weekend for Labor Day and Coronation Day, the Thai Stock market had moved higher in four straight sessions, adding almost 40 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just above the 1,490-point plateau although investors figure to lock in gains on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amidst rising hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The SET finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the industrial, property, resource and technology stocks were capped by weakness from the food, consumer, finance and service stocks.
For the day, the index perked 1.95 points or 0.13 percent to finish at the daily high of 1,493.69 after trading as low as 1,481.05. Volume was 8.741 billion shares worth 60.940 billion baht. There were 239 gainers and 225 decliners, with 195 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info stumbled 2.30 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.49 percent, Banpu rallied 2.61 percent, Bangkok Bank shed 0.61 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical was down 0.54 percent, Bangkok Expressway advanced 0.95 percent, B. Grimm surrendered 2.27 percent, BTS Group dropped 0.95 percent, CP All Public cratered 4.40 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods tanked 2.53 percent, Energy Absolute slumped 0.75 percent, Gulf slipped 0.43 percent, Kasikornbank lost 0.51 percent, Krung Thai Card sank 0.85 percent, PTT Oil & Retail increased 0.82 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.65 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 4.64 percent, SCG Packaging added 0.40 percent, Siam Commercial Bank fell 0.38 percent, Siam Concrete soared 5.26 percent, Thai Oil retreated 2.04 percent, True Corporation improved 0.74 percent, TTB Bank tumbled 1.74 percent and Krung Thai Bank, Asset World and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly headed south and finished solidly in the red.
The Dow tumbled 557.37 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 48,941.90, while the NASDAQ dropped 46.64 points or 0.19 percent to close at 25,067.80 and the S&P 500 sank 29.37 points or 0.41 percent to end at 7,200.75.
The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid a substantial increase by the price of crude oil after a social media post from the United Arab Emirates's Defense Ministry said four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country.
A report from Reuters indicating a fire broke out at a major oil industry zone in the U.A.E. following an Iranian drone attack also added to concerns about a re-escalation of the Middle East conflict.
Iranian state media also claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles, although U.S. Central Command denied the report and said, "No U.S. Navy ships have been struck."
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues to hold oil transit, despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $4.00 or 3.92 percent at $105.94 per barrel.
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