The Thai stock market on Friday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 7 points or 0.5 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now rests just above the 1,675-point plateau although it's likely to rebound again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SET finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares and a mixed performance from the energy producers.
For the day, the index dropped 11.23 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 1,677.25 after trading between 1,672.49 and 1,688.59. Volume was 18.606 billion shares worth 76.370 billion baht. There were 1,118 decliners and 452 gainers, with 488 stocks finishing unchanged.
Among the actives, Advanced Info dropped 0.99 percent, while Thailand Airport added 0.34 percent, Asset World retreated 1.61 percent, Banpu surged 3.25 percent, Bangkok Bank tumbled 1.94 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical sank 0.83 percent, Bangkok Expressway climbed 1.04 percent, B. Grimm declined 1.18 percent, BTS Group shed 0.58 percent, CP All Public slumped 1.09 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods fell 0.41 percent, Energy Absolute lost 0.83 percent, Kasikornbank plummeted 5.86 percent, Krung Thai Bank stumbled 1.72 percent, Krung Thai Card tanked 2.14 percent, PTT Oil & Retail slid 0.42 percent, PTT weakened 0.75 percent, PTT Global Chemical plunged 2.44 percent, SCG Packaging dipped 0.45 percent, Siam Commercial Bank surrendered 2.25 percent, Siam Concrete eased 0.28 percent, Thai Oil gained 0.43 percent, TTB Bank was down 0.70 percent and Gulf, PTT Exploration and Production and True Corporation were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major average spend most of Friday in the green, finishing near session highs.
The Dow spiked 330.89 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 33,375.49, while the NASDAQ surged 288.13 points or 2.66 percent to end at 11,140.43 and the S&P 500 jumped 74.76 points or 1.89 percent to close at 3,972.61.
For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ added 0.6 percent, the Dow tumbled 2.7 percent and the S&P fell 0.7 percent.
The rebound on Wall Street came as traders picked up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness, which reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.
The rally by tech stocks partly reflected a positive reaction to quarterly results from streaming giant Netflix (NFLX).
In economic news, the National Association of Realtors noted a continued decline in U.S. existing home sales in December, although the decrease was much smaller than expected.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand, as well as a drop from the greenback. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March, the most active contract, settled with a gain of $1.03 or 1.3 percent at $81.64 a barrel. WTI Crude oil futures contract for February ended up $0.98 or 1.2 percent at $81.31 a barrel on expiration day.
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