Thai shares closed 2.10 percent higher on Friday due to a short-term technical rebound following a steep fall the previous day, dealers said. The bourse rose in line with the regional trend as it welcomed news from the United States on president-elect Barack Obama's plan to boost the US economy, they said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 8.94 points to close at 435.20 points while the blue chip SET-50 index gained 7.26 points to 302.64. Gainers outpaced losers 251 to 65 with 74 stocks unchanged on turnover 2.03 billions shares worth 7.11 billion baht (204.04 million dollars).
The Thai baht gained against the US dollar to finish at 34.85-86 baht from 34.89-90 baht on Thursday. It also strengthened against the euro to close at 46.05-07 from 46.09-11. "The market closed up due mainly to a technical rebound after it fell yesterday. It was just short-term," said Sasikorn Charoenswan, market analyst at Phillip Securities. "The market sentiment was positive because of good news from the US on Obama's plan," she added.
Top energy firm PTT Plc rose 5.00 baht to close at 159.00 baht while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production gained 4.00 to 103.00. Another energy firm, Banpu, added 8.00 to 226.00. The kingdom's biggest lender, Bangkok Bank, rose 1.00 to 68.00. Kasikorn Bank edged up 0.75 to 44.75 while Siam Commercial Bank gained 1.25 to 50.50. The country's top telephone operator Advanced Info Service rose 1.50 to close at 72.50.