Thai share prices closed 0.60 percent higher on Monday amid an equity market rally in Asia, boosted by energy stocks with oil prices near record highs, dealers said.
They said domestic sentiment was upbeat on rising expectations that the Bank of Thailand would slash interest rates further next month to stimulate the country's flagging economy ahead of a general election set for December.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index gained 5.00 points to 836.51 and the blue chip SET-50 index added 4.20 points to 608.90. Gainers outnumbered losers 168 to 130 with 145 stocks unchanged on turnover of 2.66 billion shares worth 23.8 billion baht (746 million dollars).
The Thai baht held firm, closing at 34.22-23 to the dollar. Against the euro, the Thai unit finished at 48.24-29 from Friday's 48.13-18. Sukhbir Khanijoh, a senior market analyst at Kasikorn Securities, said Thailand and other regional markets had received a boost from last week's gains on Wall Street.
"As crude prices hit 83 dollars, energy-linked shares also boosted the Thai bourse," said Sukhbir, adding that the energy sector accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Thai stock market. He said that the sharp cut in a key US interest rate last week also opened up the opportunity for the central bank in Thailand to slash its rate further when the rate-setting committee meets on October 10. "The market now believes that the Thai central bank will slash the rate by another 25 basis points in the next meeting," Sukhbir said.
"With Thailand moving towards the new election, the rate cut would encourage investors to kick off new investments as concerns over political uncertainties are eased," he added. Thailand's top energy firm PTT closed flat at 332.00 baht, while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production rose 1.00 to 136.00. The nation's top lender Bangkok Bank added 2.00 to 119.00. Thai Airways International slipped 0.25 to 41.50. The kingdom's largest mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service gained 2.50 to 89.50.
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