Ahead of the long holiday weekend for the Songkran Festival, the Thai stock market had snapped the modest two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 10 points or 0.6 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand remained just below the 1,390-point plateau, and now the market may inch higher on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky with positive earnings news offset by apprehension regarding China GDP data. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up - and the Asian markets figure to open flat.
The SET finished barely in the red on Friday following mixed performances from the financial shares and the energy producers.
For the day, the index eased 0.40 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 1,389.16 after trading between 1,381.07 and 1,389.47. Volume was 3.030 billion shares worth 20.569 billion baht. There were 329 gainers and 317 decliners, with 232 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, coal miner Banpu shed 0.92 percent, while Bangkok Bank collected 0.81 percent, Kasikornbank plummeted 2.16 percent, energy giant PTT was flat, PTT Exploration and Production lost 0.64 percent, PTT Global Chemicals climbed 1.08 percent, Siam Commercial Bank tumbled 1.85 percent and Siam Concrete was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks saw considerable volatility on Tuesday before closing mostly higher. The gains on the day extended the recovery off the two-month lows set last Friday.
The Dow rose 89.32 points or 0.6 percent to 16,262.56, while the NASDAQ added 11.47 points or 0.3 percent to 4,034.16 and the S&P 500 climbed 12.37 points or 0.7 percent to 1,842.98.
The higher close reflected a positive reaction to the latest earnings news, including results from Dow components Coca-Cola (KO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
On the other hand, some negative sentiment was generated by soft economic data, including a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing that homebuilder confidence improved by less than expected in April.
The New York Federal Reserve also reported an unexpected drop by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in April. Also, the Labor Department said that consumer prices rose by slightly more than expected in March, reflecting higher prices for shelter and food.
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