(RTTNews) – The Thai stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than a dozen points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,640-point plateau although the rally may stall on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on tech weakness, rising oil prices and Middle East concerns. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SET finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the properties and resource stocks were capped by weakness among the food, finance, industrial and technology sectors.
For the day, the index rose 3.75 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 1,639.04 after trading between 1,628.60 and 1,639.87. Volume was 13.533 billion shares worth 91.803 billion baht. There were 215 gainers and 252 decliners, with 191 stocks finishing unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened under water and spent the entire session in the red, ending near session lows.
The Dow slumped 406.55 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 52,146.42, while the NASDAQ tumbled 361.70 points or 1.40 percent to close at 25,520.24 and the S&P 500 sank 76.08 points or 1.01 percent to end at 7,457.69.
For the week, the NASDAQ plunged 2.9 percent, the S&P 500 dove 1.6 percent and the Dow sank 0.9 percent.
The early weakness on Wall Street came as technology stocks extended Thursday’s losses, led by a 7.3 percent drop by shares of Netflix (NFLX) after the stream giant reported Q2 results in line with estimates but offered disappointing guidance.
But the weakness spread to the broader markets as the day progressed amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, which surged well above $80 a barrel amid concerns about the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday as the U.S.-Iran conflict grows wider, with the U.S. targeting Iran civil infrastructures. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $3.65 or 4.62 percent at $82.60 per barrel.
