Thai stocks higher, oil dip hits energy shares

Thai stocks rose 0.42 percent on Friday as another fall in oil prices lifted optimism about the domestic economy but triggered profit-taking in big-cap energy stocks, dealers said. The benchmark Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index rose 2.76 points to 663.84 and the big-cap SET50 was 0.32 percent higher at 46.63 points.
Turnover fell to 21.04 billion baht ($538 million) from Thursday's 25.44 billion baht.
The main index was boxed in a tight range of 665-660 points as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a three-day weekend with the stock market closed on Monday for a national holiday.
A stronger baht in late trade spurred foreign buying, said Piti Ketsiri, head of equity sales at BT Securities.
The baht which traded at 39.33/36 to the dollar at 1005 GMT, strengthening from 39.40/43 in early trade.
The energy sub index fell 0.55 percent as a two-day slide in oil prices dimmed the sector's earnings outlook, analysts said. Shares in top oil and gas firm PTT fell 0.6 percent and top refiner Thai Oil fell 1.14 percent.
At 1012 GMT, US light crude was at $43.57 a barrel.
A slew of public infrastructure projects continued to feed the investor appetite for shares in construction contractors, with top firm Italian-Thai up 0.5 percent and its subsidiary contractor Nawarat Patanakarn up 4.0 percent. The telecommunications index rose 1.3 percent on expectations that reform of the sector, involving the implementation of interconnection charges, would happen next year and reduce costs and benefit all telecoms operators.
Profit-taking ate into early gains by electronic firms, with the sectoral index ending down 0.1 percent after edging up 0.02 percent after Intel Corp forecast healthy profit margins.
Hana Microelectronics PCL rose 1.0 percent after the integrated circuit maker said its fourth-quarter net profit would be affected only slightly by a $5 million provision after client Philips quit the microdisplay business.
Syrus Securities said the stock price was undervalued compared with its estimated 2005 fair value of 25 baht, reflecting forecast 2005 net profit growth of 3.9 percent to 1.98 billion baht.
Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) rose 8.3 percent after a Finance Ministry official said a plan to sell TPI shares to strategic partners would be concluded by the end of this month.