The Thai stock market has jumped higher in back-to-back trading days, spiking almost 40 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,795-point plateau although investors may cash in on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower following uninspired earnings news and a fall in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourse were down - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished sharply higher following large gains from the energy producers, although the financials weighed.
For the day, the index jumped 23.38 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 1,794.94 after trading between 1,776.81 and 1,795.30. Volume was 13.705 billion shares worth 84.419 billion baht. There were 847 gainers and 538 decliners, with 386 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Banpu jumped 1.55 percent, while Bangkok Bank dropped 1.95 percent, Bangkok Medical climbed 1.28 percent, Bangkok Expressway spiked 2.67 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods added 0.85 percent, Kasikornbank plunged 2.23 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.53 percent, PTT soared 5.45 percent, PTT Exploration and Production skyrocketed 8.57 percent, PTT Global Chemical surged 4.86 percent, Siam Commercial Bank dipped 0.36 percent and Advanced Info and Thailand Airport were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks moved lower on Thursday after ending Wednesday's session mixed.
The Dow fell 83.18 points or 0.34 percent to 24,664.89, while the NASDAQ slid 57.18 points or 0.78 percent to 7,238.06 and the S&P lost 15.51 points or 0.57 percent to 2,693.13.
A negative reaction to earnings news paced the weakness on Wall Street as Procter & Gamble (PG) and Apple (AAPL) moved lower, while American Express (AXP) beat the street.
In economic news, the Labor Department saw a drop in first-time claims for jobless benefits last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said \manufacturing activity picked up steam in April. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators increased in line with estimates in March.
Crude oil futures pulled back Thursday after hitting multi-year highs, even as OPEC said that the global oil glut is all but gone. May oil settled lower by 18 cents or 0.3 percent at $68.29/bbl.
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