(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped more than 15 points or 1 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just shy of the 1,465-point plateau and it's expected to hold steady in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement as the world waits for developments in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SET finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the industrial, property, resource and technology sectors.
For the day, the index gained 10.43 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 1,464.43 after trading between 1,449.43 and 1,466.48. Volume was 6.980 billion shares worth 45.084 billion baht. There were 259 decliners and 194 gainers, with 205 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Asset World dropped 0.93 percent, while Bangkok Bank rose 0.30 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.52 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 4.96 percent, SCG Packaging advanced 0.98 percent, Siam Concrete rallied 2.49 percent and TTB Bank, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Krung Thai Card were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity s the major averages spent most of Tuesday well under water before a late push saw them end mixed and little changed.
The Dow shed 85.42 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 46,584.46, while the NASDAQ rose 21.51 points or 0.10 percent to close at 22,017.85 and the S&P 500 perked 5.02 points or 0.08 percent to end at 6,616.85.
Stocks showed a notable move to the upside late in the trading day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by two weeks to "allow diplomacy to run its course."
Trump had earlier threatened to attack Iran's power plants and bridges if Tehran fails to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET.
Crude oil prices have inched higher on Tuesday as Iran remains unresponsive to U.S. threats to open up the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $0.65 or 0.58 percent at $113.06 per barrel.
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