The Thai stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just beneath the 1,320-point plateau although it\'s likely to head south on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is a mixed bag, with weakness among the financials and oil companies likely countered by support from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial, industrial and property sectors.
For the day, the index rose 2.41 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 1,319.14 after trading between 1,315.64 and 1,323.73. Volume was 12.379 billion shares worth 39.401 billion baht. There were 269 gainers and 214 decliners, with 176 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info strengthened 1.45 percent, while Thailand Airport dropped 0.85 percent, Asset World gained 0.56 percent, Banpu increased 1.00 percent, Bangkok Bank rose 0.38 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical soared 0.94 percent, Bangkok Expressway slumped 0.64 percent, B. Grimm lost 0.46 percent, BTS Group declined 0.42 percent, CP All Public accelerated 0.90 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods rallied 1.32 percent, Energy Absolute plunged 2.78 percent, Gulf sank 0.62 percent, Kasikornbank collected 0.39 percent, Krung Thai Bank shed 0.58 percent, Krung Thai Card added 0.59 percent, PTT Oil & Retail gathered 0.61 percent, PTT Exploration and Production perked 0.65 percent, PTT Global Chemical jumped 1.63 percent, SCG Packaging improved 0.74 percent, Siam Concrete advanced 0.88 percent, Thai Oil was up 0.95 percent, TTB Bank climbed 1.16 percent and Siam Commercial Bank, True Corporation and PTT were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street remains divergent as the major averages opened mixed and finished the same way.
The Dow tumbled 299.05 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 39,112.16, while the NASDAQ rallied 220.84 points or 1.26 percent to close at 17,717.65 and the S&P 500 gained 21.43 points or 0.39 percent to end at 5,469.30.
The session-long strength in the tech-heavy NASDAQ was fueled by a rebound of Nvidia stocks after recent losses. Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Apple Inc., Eli Lilly, Micron Technology also posted strong gains.
Boeing, Nike, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Pfizer, McDonalds Corporation, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Home Depot and Johnson & Johnson declined sharply, weighing on the Dow.
In economic news, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, which measures overall economic activity and inflationary pressure, rose in May for the first time in three months. Also, the Conference Board said consumer confidence in the U.S. eased slightly in June.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders booked some profits ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data due later in the week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down by $0.80 or nearly 1 percent at $80.83 a barrel.