Ahead of the long break for the Songkran Festival, the Thai stock market has closed higher in back-to-back sessions - gathering just 3 points or 0.2 percent in that span. Off since Friday, the Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,545-point plateau, and now the market is looking at another positive lead.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with the energy stocks expected to rally following an increase in the price of crude oil. The European and U.S. markets ended higher, and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SET finished slightly higher on Friday following gains from the concrete stocks and a mixed performance from the financial shares and energy producers.
For the day, the index added 2.72 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,547.83 after trading between 1,540.25 and 1,549.66. Volume was 5.525 billion shares worth 30.299 billion baht. There were 413 gainers and 381 decliners, with 254 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, coal miner Banpu shed 0.83 percent, while Bangkok Bank collected 0.26 percent, Kasikornbank added 0.43 percent, energy giant PTT gained 0.60 percent, PTT Exploration and Production lost 0.44 percent, PTT Global Chemical tumbled 1.74 percent, Siam Commercial Bank plunged 2.47 percent and Siam Concrete spiked 1.95 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved higher on Wednesday, ending at their best closing levels in almost a month.
The Dow rose 75.91 points or 0.4 percent to 18,112.61, while the NASDAQ advanced 33.73 points or 0.7 percent to 5,011.02 and the S&P 500 climbed 10.79 points or 0.5 percent to 2,106.63.
After jumping $1.38 to $53.29 a barrel on Tuesday, crude oil for May delivery soared $3.10 to $56.39 a barrel, the highest close of the year.
Oil service stocks posted strong gains, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up 4 percent to its best closing level in four months. Gold stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with the price of the precious metal.
Traders also saw mixed economic data, including reports showing a bigger than expected rebound in homebuilder confidence but a bigger than expected drop in industrial production. The New York Fed also reported an unexpected contraction in regional manufacturing activity in April.
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