(RTTNews) - The Thai stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 25 points or 2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,350-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting among the technology companies likely to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.
The SET finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the industrial, resource, service and technology sectors.
For the day, the index added 7.78 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 1,354.01 after trading between 1,341.55 and 1,361.52. Volume was 7.375 billion shares worth 47.476 billion baht. There were 209 decliners and 200 gainers, with 254 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info shed 0.54 percent, while Thailand Airport soared 2.42 percent, Asset World slumped 0.85 percent, Bangkok Bank fell 0.32 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical accelerated 2.45 percent, B. Grimm lost 0.76 percent, CP All Public rallied 1.66 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods strengthened 1.45 percent, Gulf and TTB Bank both skidded 1.00 percent, Kasikornbank sank 0.79 percent, Krung Thai Bank dropped 0.87 percent, PTT Oil & Retail increased 0.73 percent, PTT Exploration and Production jumped 1.60 percent, SCG Packaging vaulted 1.52 percent, Siam Concrete spiked 2.83 percent, Thai Oil surged 4.95 percent, True Corporation improved 0.82 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, Krung Thai Card, PTT Global Chemical, Banpu, Energy Absolute, PTT, Bangkok Expressway and BTS Group were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly higher on Friday and continued to accelerate throughout the day, ending at session highs.
The Dow surged 1,206.97 points or 2.47 percent to finish at a record 50,115.67, while the NASDAQ soared 490.61 points or 2.18 percent to close at 23,031.21 and the S&P 500 jumped 133.90 points or 1.97 percent to end at 6,932.30.
For the week, the Dow rallied 2.5 percent, while the S&P dipped 0.1 percent and the NASDAQ fell 1.8 percent.
The rally on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent weakness, especially among the technology shares that had dragged the NASDAQ to its lowest close in two months.
Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, as did computer hardware and semiconductor stocks. A sharp increase by the price of gold also provided significant strength to the markets.
Crude oil moved higher on Friday after the U.S. issued an advisory telling its citizens to depart from Iran, further stoking concerns of war. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.20 or 0.32 percent at $63.49 per barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
